Starbucks Fires Korea Chief Over 'Tank Day' Campaign as E-Mart Shares Drop 5.5%
Updated
Updated · CNN · May 19
Starbucks Fires Korea Chief Over 'Tank Day' Campaign as E-Mart Shares Drop 5.5%
11 articles · Updated · CNN · May 19
Starbucks Korea chief Sohn Jeong-hyun was dismissed within hours of a Monday promotion for “Tank” tumblers that triggered outrage and was quickly withdrawn.
The campaign ran on Democratisation Movement Day and used “Tank Day” plus a “Tak!” tagline, invoking the 1980 Gwangju military crackdown and a 1987 torture-death case tied to the same sound.
President Lee Jae Myung said he was “enraged” and demanded an apology to victims’ families, while Shinsegae Chairman Chung Yong-jin and Starbucks Korea both issued public apologies.
Starbucks Global said Tuesday that leadership accountability steps had been taken and a formal investigation was underway, alongside tighter internal controls, review standards and company-wide training.
The backlash hit Shinsegae’s listed retail arm E-Mart, which owns 67.5% of Starbucks Korea, sending its shares down 5.5% in Seoul trading.
Was the CEO a scapegoat for a deeper historical ignorance within South Korean corporate culture?
Can an apology and dismissal truly repair public trust after a company commercializes a national tragedy?
“Tank Day” Backlash: Starbucks Korea’s May 18 Promotion, Public Outcry, and the Fall of Its CEO
Overview
On May 18, 2026, Starbucks Korea launched the 'Tank Day' campaign, a coffee tumbler promotion whose name and timing were seen as a profound insult to South Korea's democratic history. The term 'Tank Day' evoked memories of the 1980 Gwangju Democratization Movement's brutal military crackdown, while the campaign's 'Tak!' slogan referenced the 1987 torture death of student activist Park Jong-chol. These deeply offensive references sparked immediate and widespread public outrage, as they were viewed as trivializing two of the nation's most painful struggles for democracy. The backlash led to swift corporate apologies, dismissals, and promises of stronger historical awareness.