Chung Yong-jin, the chairman of Shinsegae Group, makes a public apology for a marketing campaign by Starbucks Korea that evoked a 1980 massacre of pro-democracy protesters during a press conference held at the Josun Palace hotel in Seoul’s Gangnam neighborhood on May 26, 2025. (Ryu Woo-jong/Hankyoreh)
Shinsegae Group Chairman Chung Yong-jin apologized on Tuesday for a Starbucks Korea marketing campaign widely seen as poking fun at pro-democracy protestors massacred by the Korean military in 1980. “I humbly and sincerely apologize and beg forgiveness,” Chung said in his public statement.In an internal probe of the campaign, Shinsegae acknowledged defects in its internal review process but said it had “been unable to find any definite evidence of intentionality” in regard to the campaign’s apparent mockery of massacre victims and the spirit of the May 18 Democratization Movement.Civic groups representing bereaved families and survivors slammed the Shinsegae statement as “an irresponsible apology and an insincere explanation.”“I humbly and sincerely apologize and beg forgiveness from the families of victims of the Gwangju Massacre, the family members of Park Jong-cheol, the citizens of Gwangju, and people throughout the country who have been disappointed and deeply hurt by this incident,” Chung said during a press conference at the Josun Palace hotel in Seoul’s Gangnam District on Tuesday.“I won’t offer any excuses. All the responsibility lies with me,” the Shinsegae chairman added.Chung’s public apology came eight days after the controversial marketing campaign was announced on May 18, the anniversary of the Gwangju uprising and subsequent massacre.Chung released a written apology to the nation on May 19. But with citizens organizing a boycott of Starbucks and criticism mounting in the political sphere and the Gwangju area, he appears to have felt the need to make a public apology.Shinsegae said it had “been unable to find any definite evidence of intentionality” in its internal probe of Starbucks’ planning of the “Tank Day” marketing campaign for May 18. But the conglomerate added that it had been frustrated in its attempt to verify the facts by employees’ refusal to turn over their mobile phones.Organizations representing Gwangju victims condemned what they described as an “insincere apology.”In a press conference on Tuesday, the May 18 Foundation and organizations representing bereaved families, injured individuals and “persons of meritorious service” — a legal category for massacre survivors — called on Chung to “take responsibility by stepping down from his position.”The incident is seen as yet another example of how the controversy over Chung’s extreme political views is impacting Shinsegae’s business activities.Some believe that Chung’s prejudiced attitudes and behaviors have contributed to the spread of troubling attitudes toward history throughout the organization.“We found a lack of social and historical sensitivity at Starbucks separate from any mistakes our employees may have made,” Shinsegae Vice President Jeon Sang-jin admitted during the press conference on Tuesday.Starbucks Korea also said on Tuesday that, from June 1 to 14, it would temporarily offer customers full refunds of prepaid app credit. Normally, the company only refunds balances after 60% of prepaid credit has been used.By Yi Ju-been, staff reporterPlease direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]
