‘TANK DAY’:
Conduct that makes light of the history of the Gwangju uprising is an issue that cannot be taken lightly, the interior minister said of the marketing campaign
Reuters, SEOUL
South Korean Minister of the Interior Yun Ho-jung on Thursday said that his ministry would stop offering products from companies that “make light” of the country’s democratic history, after a public outcry over a Starbucks South Korea marketing campaign that evoked a brutal 1980 military crackdown on pro-democracy protesters.The coffee chain launched its “Tank Day” campaign on the same day as the anniversary of the May 18 Gwangju uprising, when the then-military government sent in troops and tanks to suppress mass rallies for democracy.“Conduct that makes light of that history or consumes it as commercial material is an issue that can never be taken lightly,” Yun wrote on X, expressing deep regret over what he called Starbucks South Korea’s “anti-historical conduct” and saying that the South Korean Ministry of the Interior and Safety would no longer offer products from companies that made light of the history and value of democracy or used it as commercial material.
An activist holds a sign during a protest against Starbucks` “Tank Day” campaign, which was launched on the same day as the anniversary of the May 18 Gwangju uprising, when the then military government sent in troops and tanks to suppress mass rallies for democracy, in Gwangju, South Korea, May 21, 2026.
