{"id":341127,"date":"2026-05-26T22:14:55","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T16:44:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/?p=341127"},"modified":"2026-05-26T22:14:56","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T16:44:56","slug":"starbucks-under-fire-for-tank-day-ad-evoking-deadly-south-korean-rebellion-national","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/2026\/05\/26\/starbucks-under-fire-for-tank-day-ad-evoking-deadly-south-korean-rebellion-national\/","title":{"rendered":"Starbucks under fire for \u2018Tank Day\u2019 ad evoking deadly South Korean rebellion &#8211; National"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>The coffee giant, owned by Shinsegae Group subsidiary E-mart in South Korea, has faced criticism over what it coined \u2018Tank Day,\u2019 a marketing campaign for a brand new drinking cup launched on the anniversary of \u200bthe May 18 Gwangju Rebellion, when the country\u2019s military government deployed troops and tanks to suppress student-led pro-democracy demonstrations.<\/p>\n<div class=\"l-article__part\" data-shortcode=\"tp_video_miniplayer\">\n<section id=\"miniplayer_6a15c8c6a79ac-carousel\" class=\"l-videoCarousel l-videoCarousel--embed c-carousel\" data-video-carousel-play-inline=\"true\" data-video-carousel-init=\"false\" aria-label=\"Video carousel contains 5 videos.\">\n<div class=\"l-videoCarousel__inner\">\n<div class=\"l-videoCarousel__featured\">\n<div class=\"c-video c-videoPlay \" data-iframe-receiver=\"\" data-autoplay=\"\" data-displayinline-featured=\"true\" data-displayinline-type=\"video\" data-displayinline-player-id=\"miniplayer_6a15c8c6a79ac\" data-displayinline-video-id=\"11738891\" data-displayinline-ratio=\"16:9\" data-displayinline=\"https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/video\/embed\/playlist\/11738891,11454893,11450363,11085119,11181100\/?poster=https%3A%2F%2Fi1.wp.com%2Fmedia.globalnews.ca%2Fvideostatic%2Fnews%2Fv0g2ekrm90-ubqbvpoacn%2F6P_INDERDEEP_SINGH_GOSA_OM01RR5O.jpg%3Fw%3D1200%26quality%3D70%26strip%3Dall#autoplay&#038;stickyiframe=miniplayer_6a15c8c6a79ac\" data-displayinline-playlist=\"11738891,11454893,11450363,11085119,11181100\" data-displayinline-sticky=\"true\" data-permutive-data=\"{\"content\":{\"name\":\"Starbucks stabbing trial hears cross-examination of witness on accused's mental health\",\"type\":\"video\",\"sections\":[\"videos\",\"bc\",\"canada\",\"crime\",\"trending\"],\"keywords\":[\"bc-news\",\"short-clip\",\"top-news\",\"vancouver-starbucks\",\"vancouver-starbucks-stabbing\",\"global-news-hour-at-6-bc\"],\"iab\":{\"categories\":[\"Food and Drink\",\"News\"],\"tags\":[\"Anniversary\",\"Canada\",\"Chun Doo-hwan\",\"Chung Yong-jin\",\"Coffee\",\"Company\",\"Cross-examination\",\"Desk\",\"Drink\",\"E-commerce\",\"Emart\",\"Evidence\",\"Global News\",\"Gwangju\",\"Gwangju Uprising\",\"Korea\",\"Layoff\",\"Malice aforethought\",\"Marketing\",\"Marketing strategy\",\"Mental health\",\"News\",\"North America\",\"Ontario\",\"Phrase\",\"Police\",\"Reuters\",\"Risk\",\"Risk management\",\"Seoul\",\"Shinsegae\",\"South Korea\",\"Starbucks\",\"Subsidiary\",\"Tank\",\"Torture\",\"Trial\",\"United States\",\"Witness\",\"Zuma Press\"]}}}\">\n<div class=\"c-video__inner \">\n\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"c-video__placeholder\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"c-video__image\" alt=\"Click to play video: 'Starbucks stabbing trial hears cross-examination of witness on accused\u2019s mental health'\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/media.globalnews.ca\/videostatic\/news\/v0g2ekrm90-ubqbvpoacn\/6P_INDERDEEP_SINGH_GOSA_OM01RR5O.jpg?w=1040&#038;quality=70&#038;strip=all\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"\" sizes=\"auto, \" data-sizes=\"(min-width: 1040px) 1040px,(min-width: 720px) 720px,450px\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"c-video__overlay\"><\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<time class=\"c-video__duration\">1:59<\/time><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"c-video__title\">Starbucks stabbing trial hears cross-examination of witness on accused\u2019s mental health<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"l-videoCarousel__glide glide \">\n<div class=\"glide__arrows c-carousel__buttons l-videoCarousel__buttons\" data-glide-el=\"controls\">\n\t<button class=\"glide__arrow glide__arrow--left c-carousel__button c-carousel__prev l-videoCarousel__button l-videoCarousel__prev c-longform-gallery__prev\" data-glide-dir=\"<\"><\/p>\n<p>\t\t<span class=\"sr-only\">Previous Video<\/span><br \/>\n\t<\/button><br \/>\n\t<button class=\"glide__arrow glide__arrow--right c-carousel__button c-carousel__next l-videoCarousel__button l-videoCarousel__next c-longform-gallery__next\" data-glide-dir=\">&#8220;><\/p>\n<p>\t\t<span class=\"sr-only\">Next Video<\/span><br \/>\n\t<\/button><br \/>\n\t\t<button class=\"c-carousel__goto\" data-glide-dir=\"=0\" aria-hidden=\"true\" tabindex=\"-1\"><\/button>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\t\t<!-- video stream item --><\/p>\n<\/section><\/div>\n<div class=\"c-ad c-ad--bigbox l-article__ad\">\n<p>Story continues below commercial<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>The ill-fated promotion offered discounts on \u201dTank\u201d tumbler sets together with the slogan, \u201cThwack it on the table,\u201d 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 \u201cthwack.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-inlineSignup\" data-newsletter-inline=\"\">\n<div class=\"c-inlineSignup__image\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"170\" height=\"225\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/wp-content\/themes\/shaw-globalnews\/images\/skyline\/national.jpg\" alt=\"Get daily Canada news delivered to your inbox so you'll never miss the day's top stories.\">\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"c-inlineSignup__content\">\n<h2 class=\"c-inlineSignup__title\">Get day by day National news<\/h2>\n<p>Get day by day Canada news delivered to your inbox so you will never miss the day&#8217;s top stories.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI take it very seriously that Starbucks Korea\u2019s inappropriate marketing hurt and angered many \u200bpeople,\u201d Chung said. \u201cI&#8217;ll take all responsibility for the incident.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"l-article__part\" data-shortcode=\"caption\">\n<figure class=\"c-figure c-figure--alignnone c-figure--expandable\">\n<div class=\"c-figure__inner\"><figcaption class=\"c-figure__caption c-caption\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"c-caption__desc\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\tShinsegae 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 \u2018Tank Day\u2019 promotion on the anniversary of the May 18 Gwangju rebellion, but halted the event inside hours amid criticism.\t\t\t\t<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<cite class=\"c-caption__cite\"><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\tLee Jae-Won\/AFLO via ZUMA Press\t\t\t\t<\/cite><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-tabs\">\n<p>\n\t\t\t<button role=\"tab\" class=\"c-tabs__tab c-tabs__tab--active\" type=\"button\">More on Trending<\/button><br \/>\n\t\t\t<button role=\"tab\" class=\"c-tabs__tab\" type=\"button\">More videos<\/button>\n\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"c-ad c-ad--bigbox l-article__ad\">\n<p>Story continues below commercial<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Many details of the operation remain unconfirmed, including who gave the order to open fire on civilians.<\/p>\n<p>A Shinsegae representative told Reuters that Starbucks sales fell sharply following the campaign\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhile sales should not our principal concern in the mean time, we now have seen a \u200cvery \u2060significant drop,\u201d the official said.<\/p>\n<p>The campaign was spearheaded by Starbucks South Korea\u2019s e-commerce team, which secured sign-off from senior executives, the spokesperson continued, explaining that the incident had exposed flaws in the corporate\u2019s risk management systems and that staff were heavily focused on sales, leaving the marketing technique to be approved without appropriate scrutiny.<\/p>\n<p>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\u2019s response, Reuters said.<\/p>\n<p>Shinsegae\u00a0fired the pinnacle of Starbucks Korea last week after the corporate apologized for the campaign. Starbucks Global also apologized and said an investigation had \u200bbegun.<\/p>\n<p>Global News reached out to Starbucks for comment, but didn&#8217;t receive a response.<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-ad c-ad--bigbox l-article__ad\">\n<p>Story continues below commercial<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><em>\u2014\u00a0with files from Reuters<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>\n\t\t&#038;copy 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>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 \u2018Tank Day,\u2019 a marketing campaign for a brand [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":341128,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20691],"tags":[1999,11357,9353,2202,5173,1903,3685,25462,10686,9035],"class_list":["post-341127","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world","tag-day","tag-deadly","tag-evoking","tag-fire","tag-korean","tag-national","tag-south","tag-starbucks","tag-tank","tag-uprising"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/341127","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=341127"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/341127\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":341130,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/341127\/revisions\/341130"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/341128"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=341127"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=341127"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=341127"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}