Starbucks struggles to quell outrage over ‘Tank Day’ ad campaign that evoked massacre in South Korea
SEOUL, South Korea — The head of Starbucks in South Korea apologized again Tuesday as the company faces sustained public backlash against a marketing campaign widely perceived as mocking those who died for the country’s pro-democracy movement.
The coffee chain, which has been in South Korea since 1999, had planned to start selling a large drink tumbler it calls a “tank” on May 18, declaring it “Tank Day.” May 18 is also the anniversary of a 1980 crackdown by South Korea’s former military dictatorship, in which hundreds of democratic activists in the city of Gwangju were killed or injured by troops, tanks and helicopters.
Making matters worse, the campaign used the slogan “Thwack it on the table,” which for many recalled a 1987 claim by police that student activist Park Jong-chol, rather than being tortured to death, had died suddenly after investigators “hit the desk with a thwack.”
Bowing deeply before the cameras, Chung Yong-jin — chairman of the Shinsegae Group, which has a majority stake in Starbucks Korea — expressed his remorse and said the company was investigating.
“All members of the Shinsegae Group, including myself, will remember the history and sacrifices of our society and strive to deeply understand and respect the feelings of the people,” Chung said, adding that people should not take out their anger on Starbucks employees.
Read more Sonny Rollins, saxophonist and restless genius of jazz, dead at 95
It was the second apology in two weeks for Chung, with public anger failing to abate even after the Starbucks Korea CEO, Sohn Jeong-hyun, was fired last week over what the Shinsegae Group said was an “inappropriate” campaign.
Public calls for boycotts have been endorsed by government officials, with the interior minister saying his ministry will no longer offer vouchers from companies that “make light” of South Korean history.
At a protest last week outside a Starbucks store in Gwangju, a few dozen people smashed Starbucks cups on the ground, video showed.
Read more ‘I’m from Miami’ but ‘it’s hot’: Rubio tours India as temperatures soar past 100 degrees
