Starbucks Korea has terminated its CEO due to a promotion named “Tank Day,” which had ties to the Gwangju Uprising

Starbucks Korea fires its CEO after a controversial Tank Day campaign that made people angry by mentioning the Gwangju killings.

Starbucks Korea fired its CEO after a campaign referencing “Tank Day” caused a lot of anger because people thought it had something to do with the crackdown on the 1980 Gwangju Uprising.

The campaign, which started on Monday to promote the company’s Tank Series coffee tumblers, upset politicians, activists, and social media users. The name reminded them of the military tanks that suppressed pro-democracy protesters during the uprising.

People were calling for a boycott of Shinsegae, the parent business of Starbucks Korea, leading to the promotion’s removal just hours after it started.

According to Shinsegae, which owns most of Starbucks Korea, the company apologized for “inappropriate marketing” and fired Sohn Jeong-hyun as CEO.

The company stated that the tumblers were part of a broader advertising campaign that ran from May 15th to May 26th, and that the reference was not intended to be interpreted literally.

Starbucks Korea said in a statement, “We deeply apologize for the trouble and worry the incident has caused our customers.” “The event was stopped right away, and we will look at and improve our internal processes to make sure that such an incident doesn’t happen again.”

The US headquarters of Starbucks also said they were sorry, saying that the event, while unintentional, should never have happened.

President Lee Jae-myung of South Korea spoke out against the campaign, saying it was disrespectful to the people who were hurt by the crackdown and made fun of the country’s fight for democracy.

“They had no idea how many lives they were taking and how badly that day messed up our country’s history and justice,” I asked. Lee wrote on a social site.

On May 18, 1980, people in the southern city of Gwangju rose up against the military government of former president Chun Doo-hwan. This was the start of the Gwangju Uprising. Critics believed that the attack resulted in the deaths of hundreds of protesters.

Critics brought up another campaign slogan, “take on the table,” which they said was similar to a famous police statement related to the death of student activist Park Jong-chul during questioning in 1987. The slogan made the controversy even worse.

Shinsegae chief Chung Yong-jin called the campaign “an inexcusable mistake” and promised to change how the company reviews marketing materials.

Since 2021, Starbucks Coffee Company has not owned any shares in Starbucks Korea. Instead, a Shinsegae subsidiary called E-mart owns 67.5% of the business, and Singapore’s national wealth fund GIC owns the rest.