South Korean Starbucks boss apologizes for ad campaign that evoked massacre
Chung bowed three times and said Shinsegae would cooperate with police after the campaign triggered boycotts and a “very significant” sales drop, officials said.
- On Tuesday, Shinsegae Group Chairman Chung Yong-jin issued his second apology in two weeks, bowing three times during a televised statement pleading for forgiveness from democracy activists' families and the public over Starbucks Korea's Tank Day campaign.
- Starbucks Korea sparked outrage by declaring May 18 as Tank Day to promote a large tumbler, coinciding with the anniversary of the 1980 Gwangju Democratic Uprising brutally suppressed by General Chun Doo-hwan's forces that killed 162 civilians and injured over 2,600.
- The campaign's slogan 'Thwack it on the table!' referenced a 1987 police statement covering up activist Park Jong-chol's torture death, while the May 18 date also coincided ominously with the 2014 Sewol Ferry tragedy in which 299 people died.
- Starbucks Korea CEO Sohn Jeong-hyun was fired immediately after the campaign launch, and Interior and Safety Minister Yoon Ho-jung banned Starbucks products from government events, while public boycott calls spread rapidly across consumers.
- Police opened investigations after complaints from Gwangju victims' families, while Chung's first apology on May 19 preceded the in-person statement, with politicians weaponizing the scandal ahead of June 3 Local Elections to gain support from both boycott advocates and far-right movements.
46 Articles
46 Articles
Starbucks Korea Is Seeing Sales Drop After A Controversial 'Tank Day' Marketing Campaign Sparked Politica
The Korean unit of Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX), operated by the Shinsegae Group, is experiencing a significant sales decline due to a controversial marketing campaign that has sparked public outrage. The contentious marketing campaign coincided with the anniversary of the May 18 Gwangju Uprising, a brutal military crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in 1980. This has led to widespread criticism and backlash against Shinsegae and SCK Company, over …
Although Shinsegae Group Chairman Chung Yong-jin issued a public apology on the 26th, the fallout from Starbucks’ “Tank Day” is not easily subsiding. As boycott movements and public criticism stemming from this incident spread beyond Starbucks and E-Mart to the entire group, including separately operated department stores, concerns are being raised that this could burden large-scale development projects currently underway in the Gwangju region. …
The billionaire at the helm of the company operating Starbucks in South Korea has publicly apologized after a controversial marketing campaign, accused of referring to one of the country's most bloody episodes in democratic history, reports Sky News. South Korea's coffee chain has promoted a new range of drinks...
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