{"id":254,"date":"2026-05-26T12:43:14","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T12:43:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/?p=254"},"modified":"2026-05-26T12:43:14","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T12:43:14","slug":"starbucks-struggles-to-quell-outrage-over-tank-day-ad-campaign-that-evoked-massacre-in-south-korea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/?p=254","title":{"rendered":"Starbucks struggles to quell outrage over \u2018Tank Day\u2019 ad campaign that evoked massacre in South Korea"},"content":{"rendered":"
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SEOUL, South Korea \u2014 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\u2019s pro-democracy movement.<\/p>\n

Read more Trump\u2019s oozing influence in the Texas primary runoffs and U.S. revives strikes in Iran: Morning Rundown<\/a><\/p>\n

The coffee chain, which has been in South Korea since 1999, had planned to start selling a large drink tumbler it calls a \u201ctank\u201d on May 18, declaring it \u201cTank Day.\u201d May 18 is also the anniversary of a 1980 crackdown by South Korea\u2019s former military dictatorship, in which hundreds of democratic activists in the city of Gwangju were killed or injured by troops, tanks and helicopters.<\/p>\n

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Making matters worse, the campaign used the slogan \u201cThwack it on the table,\u201d 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 \u201chit the desk with a thwack.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bowing deeply before the cameras, Chung Yong-jin \u2014 chairman of the Shinsegae Group, which has a majority stake in Starbucks Korea \u2014 expressed his remorse and said the company was investigating.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll 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,\u201d Chung said, adding that people should not take out their anger on Starbucks employees.<\/p>\n

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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 \u201cinappropriate\u201d campaign.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

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 \u201cmake light\u201d of South Korean history. <\/p>\n

At a protest last week outside a Starbucks store in Gwangju, a few dozen people smashed Starbucks cups on the ground, video showed. <\/p>\n

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SEOUL, South Korea \u2014 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\u2019s pro-democracy movement.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":253,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-254","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-asia"],"yoast_head":"\nStarbucks struggles to quell outrage over \u2018Tank Day\u2019 ad campaign that evoked massacre in South Korea - Trusted Moving Group<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/?p=254\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Starbucks struggles to quell outrage over \u2018Tank Day\u2019 ad campaign that evoked massacre in South Korea - 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