Shinsegae Group Chairman Chung Yong-jin apologizes for Starbucks Korea's controversial marketing campaign at Josun Palace hotel in southern Seoul on Tuesday. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul
Shinsegae Group Chairman Chung Yong-jin publicly apologized for Starbucks Korea’s controversial marketing campaign, which has been criticized for inappropriately referencing state violence during the 1980 Gwangju Uprising.
During a news conference held Tuesday, Chung, who owns a 67.5 percent stake in Starbucks Korea, apologized for causing public outrage and said that he and other executives involved in approving the campaign would take responsibility.
The controversy erupted last week when Starbucks Korea promoted a 503-milliliter tumbler called “Tank,” named after a water tank. The promotion, branded as “Tank Day,” was launched on May 18, the anniversary of the Gwangju Uprising.
Starbucks Korea said the campaign was intended simply to market its newly released tumbler and encourage customers to purchase it. However, many Koreans interpreted the campaign differently because of the historical significance of May 18, 1980 — a dark chapter in modern Korean history when military forces opened fire on pro-democracy protesters in the southwestern city of Gwangju, resulting in a massacre that claimed numerous innocent lives. Critics accused Starbucks Korea of running a politically insensitive campaign that appeared to evoke or even justify the violence associated with the pro-democracy movement.
