Starbucks Korea launched a 'Tank Day' promotion on the anniversary of the 1980 Gwangju Uprising, drawing swift domestic and international criticism. Shinsegae Group has fired the local chief executive and issued an apology.
On May 18 Starbucks Korea ran a 'Tank Day' promotion offering discounts on tumbler sets and using the phrase 'Slam on the desk.' Critics said the wording evoked the 1980 military crackdown in Gwangju that killed at least 165 people and the 1987 torture death of activist Park Jong-chol.
Public outrage quickly spread abroad. Social media users compared the campaign to promotions tied to the Sept. 11 attacks or the Holocaust and urged Starbucks headquarters in Seattle to intervene.
Interior Minister Yun Ho-jung said on May 21 that government events would no longer use products from the operator. Shinsegae Group dismissed the local chief executive the same day the controversy broke and Chair Chung Yong-jin issued a public apology. Civic groups have filed criminal complaints alleging insult and defamation.
