Seoul
The head of Starbucks Korea has been fired after a advertising marketing campaign sparked public outrage for evoking painful memories of a brutal navy crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in 1980.
Shinsegae Group, the retail conglomerate that licenses and manages the US espresso chain in South Korea, stated it had sacked Sohn Jeong-hyun, the top of Starbucks Korea, for finishing up “inappropriate marketing.”
Sohn’s dismissal got here hours after Starbucks launched its “Tank Day” marketing campaign on Monday selling what it referred to as its “Tank” line of tumblers with the tagline “put it on the table with a sound of ‘Tak!’”
Monday additionally marked Democratisation Movement Day, which commemorates the student-led Gwangju Uprising of May 1980, and the marketing campaign drew robust criticism in South Korea.
Hundreds of individuals are estimated to have died or gone lacking when the navy dictatorship of Chun Doo-hwan deployed troops and tanks to crack down on the protests. Many particulars stay unconfirmed, together with who gave the order to open hearth on the protesters. Chun lastly stepped down in 1988 amid rising requires democracy.
Critics additionally questioned the use of the phrase “tak” for echoing explanations by South Korean police in 1987 for the loss of life of a pupil protester, who was discovered to have been tortured. At the time, police stated the coed died after investigators struck a desk making a “tak” sound, in accordance with native media studies.
Reuters was unable to achieve Sohn for remark and Starbucks Korea declined to make him out there for remark, saying he had already left the corporate. The firm has withdrawn the marketing campaign.
Writing on X on Monday, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung stated he was “enraged” by Starbucks’ marketing campaign and demanded it apologize to households of folks killed in the course of the rebellion.
The marketing campaign “tarnished the bloody protests of Gwangju citizens and the victims of the protests,” Lee stated, calling it the act of a “degenerate peddler.”
Starbucks Korea posted a press release on its web site apologizing for the promotion whereas Shinsegae Group Chairman Chung Yong-jin additionally issued a public apology.
“I deeply bow in apology as the representative of the group,” Chung stated. The advertising “deeply hurt the public, the bereaved families, and the victims of the May 18 demonstration.”
Shares of Shinsegae’s low cost retail chain E-Mart 139480.KS, which owns a 67.5% stake in Starbucks Korea that’s now referred to as SCK Company, ended down 5.5% on the shut of commerce in Seoul.
Starbucks Global additionally issued a press release on Tuesday, saying it was sorry about what had occurred and that an investigation had begun.
“We sincerely apologize to the people of Gwangju, to those impacted by this tragedy, and to our customers and communities,” a spokesperson at Starbucks Global stated in an e mail to Reuters.
“Leadership accountability actions have been taken, and a thorough investigation is underway,” the spokesperson stated. “We are implementing stronger internal controls, review standards, and company-wide training to ensure this does not happen again.”