Shinsegae Group Chairman Chung Yong-jin speaks to journalists at JFK International Airport in New York ahead of his trip to Washington, D.C. to join a presidential inauguration ceremony for Donald Trump, Jan. 18. Yonhap
The renewed scrutiny of Shinsegae Group Chairman Chung Yong-jin’s political views, following Starbucks Korea’s recent promotion controversy — which critics say referenced Korea’s pro-democracy movements of the 1980s in an inappropriate manner — is beginning to spill over into the group’s broader business portfolio beyond the coffee chain.
Chung’s long-running controversies are now raising concerns that the conglomerate’s ongoing development projects and its partnership with Starbucks headquarters in Seattle could come under pressure. The fiasco has also reignited questions over his leadership and management judgment.
His far-right views began drawing public backlash in 2021 and continued into the following year, when he repeatedly used the word “myeolgong” — meaning “eradicate communism” in Korean — in Facebook posts. He also uploaded posts condemning communism with the hashtag “myeolgong” and mocked reporters who questioned his social media activity by leaving sarcastic comments on their news articles online.
