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(LEAD) Starbucks Korea chief fired over ‘Tank Day’ event on pro-democracy anniv.

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(LEAD) Starbucks Korea chief fired over 'Tank Day' event on pro-democracy anniv.

SEOUL, May 18 (Yonhap) — The head of Starbucks Korea was dismissed Monday after the coffee chain faced strong backlash over a promotional event that evoked painful memories of South Korea’s military rule on a pro-democracy movement anniversary, Shinsegae Group said.

Son Jung-hyun, head of SCK Company, which operates Starbucks Korea under E-Mart, was fired hours after the coffee franchise launched its “Tank Day” online promotional event, which offered discounts on “Tank” tumbler sets along with the phrase, “Put it on the table with a sound of ‘Tak!’”

The event quickly drew criticism from civic groups and online users, who argued that the word “tank” recalled the military vehicles deployed by martial law troops during the uprising in the southwestern city of Gwangju on May 18, 1980, while the phrase “tak” was seen as evoking the 1987 torture death of student activist Park Jong-chol.

Hours later, Starbucks Korea suspended the promotional event and issued an apology to those who were involved in the nation’s democracy movement, including victims of the Gwangju uprising and the bereaved family of Park.

Shinsegae Group, the retail conglomerate that owns E-Mart, moved quickly to contain the controversy as criticism over the event intensified, with some consumers calling for a boycott.

According to the company, Shinsegae Group Chairman Chung Yong-jin notified Son of his dismissal and ordered disciplinary measures against those involved in planning and approving the marketing event.

Critics also said the phrase “tak” evoked the infamous explanation surrounding the 1987 torture death of student activist Park. The incident later became a major catalyst for the country’s democracy movement against then President Chun Doo-hwan, who ordered troops to quash demonstrators during the 1980 Gwangju uprising.

At the time, police claimed Park died after investigators struck a desk with a “tak” sound, prompting him to collapse with an “eok” sound — an explanation that later became a widely criticized symbol of the military regime’s attempts to conceal torture and state violence.

A civic group supporting victims and bereaved families of the Gwangju uprising accused Starbucks Korea of “damaging the spirit of the democracy movement through a shallow understanding of history.”

“We strongly condemn Starbucks Korea and urge the company to provide a proper explanation and apology,” the group said in a statement.
Later in the day, President Lee Jae Myung, who visited Gwangju for a commemorative event marking the democracy movement, also slammed Starbucks Korea for holding the “Tank Day” event on a day associated with victims of military rule and the pro-democracy movement.

“I am outraged by the inhumane behavior of profiteers who deny the values of the Republic of Korea, fundamental human rights and democracy,” Lee wrote on social media platform X, referring to South Korea by its official name.

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