Starbucks Korea head fired: Why a ‘Tank Day’ tumbler promo sparked public outrage | World Information
3 min learnUp to date: Could 19, 2026 11:33 AM IST
The Starbucks Korea head has been sacked after a advertising and marketing marketing campaign triggered public outrage just lately.
The retail conglomerate, Shinsegae Group, that manages the US espresso chain in South Korea, mentioned that Sohn Jeong-hyun, the pinnacle of Starbucks Korea, was fired for operating “inappropriate advertising and marketing” with the launch of ‘Tank Day’ marketing campaign.
What was the marketing campaign?
The marketing campaign was to advertise what it referred to as its “Tank” line of tumblers with a tagline that claims “put it on the desk with a sound of ‘Tak!‘”
What occurred in 1980, and what’s the latest outrage about?
The marketing campaign sparked calls of boycotting Starbucks and political backlash for reviving reminiscences of a harsh army crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in 1980. Many For A lot of them, the “tank” motif stood for automobiles deployed by the federal government in Could 1980 to crush the protesters.
Monday marked Democratisation Motion Day, commemorating the student-led Gwangju Rebellion of Could 1980, and the ’Tank Day’ marketing campaign on that day drew appreciable flak in South Korea. A whole bunch of individuals had been estimated to have been killed or gone lacking when the army dictator Chun Doo-hwan deployed troops and tanks to crack down on the protests.
A number of particulars stay unconfirmed, akin to who gave the firing order. In 1988, Chun lastly stepped down amid rising stress and requires democracy. Questions had been additionally raised on the usage of the phrase “tak” that echoed the reasons by South Korean police in 1987 for the loss of life of a scholar protester after torture. Based on media reviews, the police ahd mentioned the coed died after investigators hit a desk, making a “tak” sound.
What the South Korean President mentioned
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, on Monday, mentioned he was “enraged” by the marketing campaign and demanded the agency’s apology to the households of individuals killed within the rebellion. Terminf it the act of a “degenerate peddler”, Lee mentioned the marketing campaign “tarnished the bloody protests of Gwangju residents and the victims of the protests”.
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Starbucks’ apology
Starbucks Korea posted an apology assertion on its web site.
In the meantime, Shinsegae Group Chairman Chung Yong-jin mentioned: “I deeply bow in apology because the consultant of the group,” Chung mentioned, including that the advertising and marketing “deeply harm the general public, the bereaved households, and the victims of the Could 18 demonstration.”
In an e mail to Reuters, a Starbucks World spokesperson wrote: “We sincerely apologize to the individuals of Gwangju, to these impacted by this tragedy, and to our clients and communities. Management accountability actions have been taken, and a radical investigation is underway,” the spokesperson mentioned. “We’re implementing stronger inner controls, evaluation requirements, and company-wide coaching to make sure this doesn’t occur once more.”
How Starbucks shares traded at the moment
The shares of Shinsegae’s E-Mart, with 67.5% stake in Starbucks Korea, had been down 5.5% at 1.15 pm (0415 GMT) in Seoul buying and selling.
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