Starbucks Korea CEO fired over promotion that evoked military crackdown

The head of Starbucks Korea has been dismissed after a marketing campaign that evoked a bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protesters provoked outrage, including from South Korea’s president.

CEO Son Jung-hyun was fired to hold him accountable for the “inappropriate” promotional campaign launched on the anniversary of the May 18, 1980, uprising in Gwangju, the coffee chain’s South Korean operator said on Tuesday.

Shinsegae Group Chairman Chung Yong-jin “personally ordered” Son’s dismissal after a “strict and thorough internal investigation”, the conglomerate said, describing the top executive as “furious” over the incident.

Chung took the action to “make an example of this incident so that nothing similar ever happens again”, Shinsegae Group said, adding that another unnamed executive involved in the campaign would also be fired.

Son’s dismissal came after he had earlier apologised for the “deep hurt” caused by the campaign, which used the wording “Tank Day” and “5/18” to promote a new range of coffee tumblers.

The combination of the language and date provoked a swift backlash among South Koreans for seeming to invoke the armoured vehicles used by the military to crush pro-democracy activists opposing then-President Chun Doo-hwan.

Shinsegae Group and Starbucks Korea did not explain how the campaign came to be linked with the sensitive date, but Son said in his apology that the promotional materials were “not thoroughly reviewed internally before the event began”.

Starbucks’s global headquarters said in a statement that the incident was “unintentional” but “never should have happened”.

“We recognise the deep pain and offence this has caused, particularly to those who honour the victims, their families, and all who contributed to Korea’s democratisation,” a spokesperson said.

“We sincerely apologise to the people of Gwangju, to those impacted by this tragedy, and to our customers and communities,” the spokesperson added.

Adding his voice to civic groups representing victims of the crackdown, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said on Monday that the campaign had mocked the “blood-soaked struggle” of the country’s democracy activists.

“I am outraged by this inhumane, bottom-feeding behavior from these low-class peddlers who deny the Republic of Korea’s community, basic human rights, and democratic values,” Lee said in a post on X.

“They must be held accountable with the corresponding moral, administrative, legal, and political responsibility.”

The Gwangju uprising, which was led by student protesters opposing Chun’s dictatorial rule, is widely considered a pivotal moment in the democratisation of South Korea, which held its first free elections in decades in 1987.

Acting on the orders of Chun, South Korean troops stormed the southwestern city of Gwangju to violently suppress student activists who had assembled to protest the military strongman’s takeover of the civilian government.

Government figures suggest that more than 200 people were killed in the crackdown although some activists and historians have estimated the true death toll to be more than 2,000.

South Korea is one of Starbucks’s most important markets worldwide.

The East Asian country is home to more than 2,000 outlets of the Seattle-based coffee chain, more than any other country apart from the United States and China.