Starbucks South Korea saw a big slump in sales this week after it released an ad campaign evoking a deadly military crackdown on pro-democratic protesters within the Eighties.
The coffee giant, owned by Shinsegae Group subsidiary E-mart in South Korea, has faced criticism over what it coined ‘Tank Day,’ a marketing campaign for a brand new drinking cup launched on the anniversary of the May 18 Gwangju Rebellion, when the country’s military government deployed troops and tanks to suppress student-led pro-democracy demonstrations.
The ill-fated promotion offered discounts on ”Tank” tumbler sets together with the slogan, “Thwack it on the table,” an apparent reference to a phrase with dark implications in South Korea, coined by police to allegedly cover up the torture of a student protester who they said died of shock after investigators hit a desk he was sitting at with a “thwack.”
Get day by day National news
Get day by day Canada news delivered to your inbox so you will never miss the day’s top stories.
In an apology during a news conference on Tuesday, Shinsegae Group chairman Chung Yong-jin asked the general public to not take their anger out on Starbucks employees and front-of-house staff.
“I take it very seriously that Starbucks Korea’s inappropriate marketing hurt and angered many people,” Chung said. “I’ll take all responsibility for the incident.”
Shinsegae Group Chairman Chung Yong-Jin (C) leaves after a press conference in Seoul, South Korea. Chung on Tuesday apologized for the controversial Starbucks Korea promotional campaign. Starbucks Korea, operated by Shinsegae Group affiliate E-Mart, launched a web-based ‘Tank Day’ promotion on the anniversary of the May 18 Gwangju rebellion, but halted the event inside hours amid criticism.
Lee Jae-Won/AFLO via ZUMA Press
While exact numbers are disputed, a whole bunch of persons are believed to have died or gone missing in the course of the military operation executed under Chun Doo-hwan in Gwangju, a city in southwest Korea.
Many details of the operation remain unconfirmed, including who gave the order to open fire on civilians.
A Shinsegae representative told Reuters that Starbucks sales fell sharply following the campaign’s release and that share prices tumbled as much as 2.8 per cent in morning trade Tuesday, adding that an internal investigation was looking into whether there had been any premeditation or intentional wrongdoing by management or employees, but up to now had not turned up any evidence suggesting this was the case.
“While sales should not our principal concern in the mean time, we now have seen a very significant drop,” the official said.
The campaign was spearheaded by Starbucks South Korea’s e-commerce team, which secured sign-off from senior executives, the spokesperson continued, explaining that the incident had exposed flaws in the corporate’s risk management systems and that staff were heavily focused on sales, leaving the marketing technique to be approved without appropriate scrutiny.
Starbucks global headquarters within the U.S. was aware of the gravity of the situation and had been receiving updates on the investigation and the corporate’s response, Reuters said.
Shinsegae fired the pinnacle of Starbucks Korea last week after the corporate apologized for the campaign. Starbucks Global also apologized and said an investigation had begun.
Global News reached out to Starbucks for comment, but didn’t receive a response.
— with files from Reuters
© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.