Starbucks Korea faces backlash over ‘Tank Day’ promotion on May 18 anniversary

Police said Wednesday they were questioning the head of Shinsegae Group's audit team over allegations that its affiliate Starbucks Korea insulted victims of the 1980 pro-democracy movement in Gwangju with its controversial marketing campaign. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency called in Yang Jong-hwan to question the results of the group's weeklong internal inspection of the incident in May. Starbucks Korea, operated by E-Mart Inc., launched an online "Tank Day" promotion on May 18, the anniversary of the 1980 Gwangju pro-democracy movement. The coffee franchise launched a discount event for "Tank" tumbler sets, along with the controversial phrase, "Put it on the table with a sound of 'Tak!'" The promotional event drew criticism, as the word "tank" evoked memories of the military violently clamping down on pro-democracy protesters. The word "Tak" also sparked backlash, as it reminded people of student activist Park Jong-cheol, who died in 1987 after being tortured. Announcing the results of the internal probe last month, Shinsegae Group said it found no evidence backing allegations that

A botched marketing campaign by Starbucks’ South Korean operation that’s resulted in boycotts, an investigation, a fired executive, and a public apology continues as all 2,000-plus locations nationwide will close early on June 22 for mandatory history and social sensitivity training. This will mark the first nationwide early closure of Starbucks Korea since the coffee chain began operating in the country in 1999. After the U.S. and China, South Korea is the third-largest market for Seattle-based Starbucks.   Shinsegae Group, which owns the majority stake in the coffee chain’s South Korean operations,  is still doing damage control four weeks after launching a promotion for stainless-steel tumblers on May 18 in honor of what it referred to as “Tank Day.” That promotion was quickly met with widespread criticism and backlash as it came on the 46th anniversary of the Gwangju Uprising, a pro-democracy movement that turned violent and deadly after the military deployed troops, tanks and helicopters to suppress the rebellion. Only hours after that promotion launched, Shinsegae fired the chain’s chief executive Sohn Jeong-hyun and vowed to investigate the circumstances that led to it happening in the first place. All visitors to the Starbucks Korea website are now greeted with an apology message from Chairman Chung Yong-jin written that same day.  “We deeply feel a heavy sense of responsibility regarding this incident and the gravity of the matter, and we will take all possible measures to prevent such an incident from recurring,” the apology message on the website reads, in part, according to a Google translation.  TRAINING, OTHER CHANGES COMING Next week’s training session at its Seoul headquarters, which will be led by history and sociology professors, is the chain’s latest effort to reassure customers who are still outraged over the promotion. Locations are closing early so that employees can also view a recording of the session.  “It demonstrates how seriously we take this marketing incident, and it reflects our commitment to ensuring it never happens again,” Shinsegae said in a statement, according to Bloomberg News.  What’s more, Starbucks Korea will overhaul its internal decision-making process going forward to include a “social sensitivity checklist” and a tighter approval chain to ensure there’s cross-departmental sign-offs from legal and quality control teams. HOW AI FACTORED IN Among the many-layered problems with the botched marketing stunt was a slogan for the stainless-steel tumblers that echoed wording used by police after the 1987 torture and death of student activist Park Jong-chul.  Starbucks Korea marketers chose this problematic slogan after using an AI tool to look for suggestions, according to Shinsegae. And some managers who approved the promotional campaign never opened the email attachments that showed the marketing material, according to reporting by The Guardian. After customers began demanding refunds from Starbucks prepaid gift cards, Starbucks Korea announced last month that it was temporarily relaxing its balance refund criteria. The fallout from the “Tank Day” promotion saw payments at Starbucks Korea plunge by more than 10% from April, or roughly $6.5 billion, according to figures from MobileIndex. Though Starbucks licenses the brand, it holds no equity in the Korean operation. But it too was pulled into the controversy and issued an apology last month, as the BBC reported. “While unintentional, this should never have happened,” the statement read. “We recognize the deep pain and offense this has caused, particularly to those who honor the victims, their families, and all who contributed to Korea’s democratization.”

The day of the reusable cup promotion coincided with the anniversary of the Gwangju uprising in which 165 civilians were killed, though many believe the real figure to be much higher.

Starbucks stores across South Korea will close for half a day next week for staff to attend a history lesson following a promotional campaign gone awry, the coffee giant said on Monday. Starbucks Korea, with more than 2,000 stores nationwide, found itself embroiled in public uproar last month when it ran a “Tank Day” promotion evoking a deadly military crackdown on a 1980 pro-democracy uprising. The day of the reusable cup promotion – May 18 – coincided with the 46th anniversary of the Gwangju...

Shinsegae Group Chairman Chung Yong-jin, along with executives and employees of Starbucks Korea, will undergo training aimed at improving historical awareness and social sensitivity following a controversial promotion linked to the 1980 pro-democracy uprising in Gwangju, the company said Monday. Starbucks Korea, operated by E-Mart, a Shinsegae affiliate, launched an online "Tank Day" promotion on May 18, the anniversary of the Gwangju democratic uprising. The event was suspended within hours after drawing widespread public criticism. According to the company, Chung and the chief executives of Shinsegae affiliates will participate in the training ahead of a meeting of affiliate heads scheduled for June 24. Executives of E-Mart-affiliated companies and employees at Starbucks Korea's headquarters will attend a training session on Wednesday. Partners, the company's term for store employees, will receive the training next Monday. All Starbucks stores nationwide will close early at 3 p.m. The coffee company launched the discount event for "Tank" tumbler sets, along with a controversial phrase,

SEATTLE — Just over three weeks after Starbucks Korea sparked outrage with its "Tank Day" promotion that coincided with the May 18 Gwangju Uprising, the company is already showing signs of a comeback. Starbucks gift certificates have once again become the most popular item in the cafe category on KakaoTalk's gift service, part of Korea's dominant messaging app, after briefly losing the top position in the wake of the controversy. The development comes despite continuing fallout from the incident, which sparked calls for a boycott, public apologies and a management reshuffle at Starbucks Korea. Shinsegae Group Chairman Chung Yong-jin also publicly apologized and recently assumed direct leadership of E-mart, the affiliate that oversees Starbucks Korea. Despite the consequences, the episode revives a familiar question in Korea: Why do so many consumer boycotts appear to follow a similar pattern? The Starbucks controversy is only the latest example. The incident triggered one of the most visible consumer backlashes of the year. Customers shared photos of canceled Starbucks cards and refunde