Civil society groups have called on the National Pension Service (NPS), a shareholder in parent company E-Mart, to demand remedial measures after Starbucks Korea’s alleged insult to the May 18 Democratic Uprising (the Gwangju Uprising).
On the 24th, People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (PSPD) issued a statement titled “The National Pension Service should hold E-Mart and Starbucks accountable under its fiduciary duty for the May 18 insult,” urging the NPS—E-Mart’s second-largest shareholder—to rigorously seek accountability from Starbucks Korea for the damage to corporate value and the failures in internal controls, and to demand corrective action.
PSPD recalled that in 2022 Shinsegae Chairman Jung Yong-jin provoked controversy by referencing the slogan “Myeolgong”—an expression calling for the eradication of communism—on his social media. The group said the current episode reveals a confluence of problems: a lack of historical awareness within Shinsegae Group and Starbucks Korea, a family-centered corporate culture, incompetent management and boards that failed to prevent recurring risks, and inadequate internal controls.
Under the National Pension Fund’s guidelines on fiduciary responsibility activities, the NPS may carry out engagement—taking environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors into account—for companies in which it holds a 5% or greater stake. PSPD said that when an issue poses legal risks that could harm corporate value, the NPS can pursue confidential dialogue to verify a company’s responses and to press for remedial measures. PSPD noted that Starbucks Korea has been accused of violating the May 18 Special Law and of insulting, and that the company’s stock has declined.
PSPD added that the damage has fallen squarely on innocent Starbucks store employees, who have borne the brunt of public anger, as well as on Shinsegae Group’s corporate value and the public pension funds that suffered losses from failed risk management. The group urged the NPS to actively fulfill its fiduciary duties—demanding measures to prevent recurrence—so that store workers and ordinary citizens no longer suffer from the board’s and the owner family’s lack of accountability. “We call on the NPS, which manages the public’s retirement funds, not to stand idly by but to address issues of corporate social responsibility and governance,” PSPD said.
On the 18th, Starbucks Korea posted a promotional notice for an event called “Dante·Tank·Nasuday.” The ad labeled May 18 “Tank Day” and promoted items such as a “Colorful Tank Tumbler Set” and a “Tank Duo Set.” The copy also included the phrase “Tak! on the desk!” Critics said the wording evoked the military tanks that entered Gwangju during the May 18 uprising and suggested an allusion to the notorious 1987 official statement referring to the death of activist Park Jong-chul under torture—“He hit the desk ‘tak,’ and he fell ‘eok’.” Starbucks Korea removed the notice after the backlash.
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