Starbucks Korea head fired after 'Tank Day' promotion sparks public uproar

The head of Starbucks Korea has been fired after a marketing campaign sparked public outrage for evoking painful memories of a brutal military crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in 1980.



Shinsegae Group, the retail conglomerate that licenses and manages the U.S. coffee chain in South Korea, said it had sacked Sohn Jeong-hyun, the head of Starbucks Korea, for carrying out "inappropriate marketing."



Sohn's dismissal came hours after Starbucks launched its "Tank Day" campaign on Monday promoting what it called its "Tank" line of tumblers with the tagline "put it on the table with a sound of 'Tak!'"



Monday also marked Democratisation Movement Day, which commemorates the student-led Gwangju Uprising of May 1980, and the campaign drew strong criticism in South Korea.



Writing on X on Monday, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said he was "enraged" by Starbucks' campaign and demanded it apologise to families of people killed during the uprising.



The campaign "tarnished the bloody protests of Gwangju citizens and the victims of the protests," Lee said, calling it the act of a "degenerate peddler."