Starbucks Korea Sales Drop Sharply After May 18 "Tank Day" Campaign Sparks Boycott
Updated
Updated · Al Jazeera English · May 26
Starbucks Korea Sales Drop Sharply After May 18 "Tank Day" Campaign Sparks Boycott
11 articles · Updated · Al Jazeera English · May 26
Starbucks Korea suffered a “very significant” sales drop after its “Tank Day” promotion, launched on the May 18 anniversary of the 1980 Gwangju crackdown, triggered public outrage and boycott calls.
Shinsegae Group chairman Chung Yong-jin apologized again on Tuesday, said he would take full responsibility, and urged the public not to direct anger at store workers.
Shinsegae already fired Starbucks Korea’s chief last week, while Starbucks Global opened an investigation; executives said they have not found conclusive evidence staff intended to mock the pro-democracy movement.
Some marketing employees refused to hand over smartphones during a weeklong internal review, and Shinsegae said anyone found by police to have intended ridicule would be dismissed.
The backlash widened after Interior Minister Yoon Ho-jung barred Starbucks products from government events and President Lee Jae Myung condemned the campaign over a massacre in which hundreds died or disappeared.
How did a coffee campaign reignite trauma from South Korea's violent past?
Are local scandals and global issues a sign of systemic failure at Starbucks?
Can Starbucks regain trust while holding millions in unregulated customer funds?
Starbucks Korea’s “Tank Day” Scandal: How a Marketing Misstep on May 18, 2026 Sparked National Outrage and Corporate Crisis
Overview
On May 18, 2026, Starbucks Korea launched a 'Tank Day' tumbler campaign that coincided with the anniversary of the Gwangju Democratization Movement. The campaign's marketing included the phrase 'Bang on the Desk,' which reminded many Koreans of the 1987 police cover-up of activist Park Jong-chul's death. This timing and wording were seen as trivializing historical suffering, leading to immediate public outrage. The Gwangju-Jeonnam Memorial Coalition called the campaign a 'malicious mockery,' and the backlash quickly escalated into a national scandal, highlighting a serious lack of historical sensitivity within Starbucks Korea.