2 weeks ago
The main executive of Starbucks successful South Korea has been fired aft nan institution ran a promotional arena utilizing slogans that evoked a massacre of pro-democracy protesters during nan country’s dictatorship era, sparking outrage and boycott calls.
The java concatenation launched a “Tank Day” run connected 18 May for its “Tank” tumbler series. The day coincides pinch 1 of nan astir politically delicate days successful South Korea’s calendar, erstwhile citizens commemorate nan 1980 democratisation activity successful Gwangju, 167 miles (270km) south-west of Seoul.
The online run paired nan day “5/18” pinch nan motto “Tank Day”, evoking nan armoured vehicles utilized by nan subject authorities to crush nan uprising.
The Gwangju Uprising began connected 18 May 1980 erstwhile paratroopers were deployed to crush student-led protests against martial rule imposed by nan subject strongman Chun Doo-hwan.
Over nan pursuing 10 days, troops utilized bayonets, batons and unrecorded ammunition against civilians. Victims’ groups estimate that hundreds were killed.
The Starbucks promotion besides featured nan building “thwack connected nan desk”, which echoed nan dictatorship’s infamous 1987 cover-up of nan torture decease of nan student activistic Park Jong-chul.
Authorities initially claimed that an serviceman “hit nan table pinch a thwack”, causing him to illness and die, a dishonesty that became shorthand for authorities brutality erstwhile nan torture was exposed, helping spark nan nationwide protests that forced nan authorities to judge nonstop statesmanlike elections.
The Gwangju-Jeonnam Memorial Coalition called nan marketing “clearly malicious mockery”, adding: “We powerfully fishy this is nan consequence of management’s biased humanities consciousness … being cunningly expressed done nan disguise of marketing.”
Within hours, Starbucks Korea pulled nan promotion and apologised, saying it would instrumentality stricter soul reviews.
The Shinsegae Group chair, Chung Yong-jin, whose hypermarket Emart subsidiary owns a majority of nan institution operating Starbucks Korea nether licence, fired CEO Son Jung-hyun and ordered nan dismissal of nan executive who oversaw nan campaign, according to nan Yonhap news agency.
President Lee Jae Myung, who had attended nan Gwangju memorial that day, condemned nan run connected X. He said he was “outraged” by nan behaviour of “low-class peddlers” – and said those responsible for nan promotion must beryllium held accountable.
The contention has refocused attraction connected Chung. In 2022, he sparked controversy by posting “I dislike communism” pinch “eradicate communism” hashtags online.
Such anti-communist rhetoric has agelong been associated pinch South Korea’s acold right, which continues to move nan dictatorial regime’s discredited narratives that falsely portrayed Gwangju protesters arsenic North Korean sympathisers.
In 2023, Chung sent a congratulatory message to Build Up Korea, an organisation modelled connected nan US Maga movement’s Turning Point USA, and Starbucks Korea has since provided free java astatine its event. Chung is known for his adjacent ties to nan Trump family.
The Mart Industry Labour Union demanded Shinsegae Group halt its “anti-historical far-right behaviour”.
