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[iNews24 Reporter Eun-kyung Park] Shinsegae Group said its “Tank Day” promotion on May 18 does not constitute grounds for Starbucks U.S. headquarters to exercise its call option (contract termination).
On the 26th, after offering a public apology at the Chosun Palace Hotel and releasing the findings of its internal investigation, Shinsegae Group said that Starbucks’ U.S. headquarters is also treating the matter with gravity. The companies will consult on processes and procedures, and formal discussions are expected within a few days.
The company said it cannot comment on whether the call option will be exercised at this time, adding that while a call option could be invoked if Shinsegae were found legally at fault, the company does not believe that is the case here.
Starbucks Korea ran an online tumbler sale on May 18 called “Tank Day.” Online forums and social media criticized the name, saying it evoked the deployment of tanks by martial-law forces and the Chun Doo-hwan regime during the May 18 Gwangju uprising.
The promotional copy drew criticism as well. Critics argued that the event phrase rendered as “a thud on the desk” recalled the security headquarters’ 1987 statement about the death of torture victim Park Jong-chul—commonly paraphrased as “they struck the desk and he suddenly died”—and that the wording was therefore insensitive.
President Lee Jae-myung addressed the incident directly and called for accountability, and boycott calls against Starbucks spread across sectors, deepening the controversy.
Some speculated that Starbucks’ global headquarters might use the episode to terminate its agreement with Shinsegae, but Shinsegae pushed back against that possibility.
No Evidence of Preplanning by Starbucks Korea Commerce Team
Shinsegae dismissed claims that employees deliberately planned the Tank Day campaign or conspired in advance.
The promotion originated with Starbucks Korea’s commerce team and passed through the approval line—team lead, person in charge, division head and CEO—before final sign-off. Investigators performed forensic checks on the phones and laptops of the staff involved and conducted cross-checks; however, three commerce team members refused to turn over their phones, so investigators were unable to confirm whether there had been prior coordination.
Shinsegae also said it could not review internal messenger conversations from the planning phase because the company server retains messages for only one week.
The probe found that even after the controversy erupted, some employees did not grasp the seriousness of the situation and engaged in inappropriate exchanges. Those employees deny any malicious intent, saying they consulted an artificial intelligence (AI) tool.
Shinsegae has removed five commerce team employees who proposed the promotion from their duties and placed them on administrative leave. The company also dismissed the related executives and the CEO.
Shinsegae said it will pursue full civil and criminal responsibility if police investigations later uncover intentional wrongdoing.
A Shinsegae spokesperson said three commerce team members who proposed the “Tank Day” name refused to submit their phones, preventing confirmation of marketing-related work records. The spokesperson added that if the police find anyone intended to demean the May 18 incident when planning this event, Shinsegae will hold them fully accountable.
No One Flagged It…Admits Risk-Management Failures
Through the investigation, Shinsegae acknowledged serious flaws in Starbucks Korea’s marketing review and risk-management systems. No one in the approval process raised concerns that “Tank Day” was inappropriate in relation to May 18, and there were no formal objections recorded.
Investigators even found that some of the seven approvers never opened the attached marketing mock-up in the approval email and simply signed off out of habit.
Chairman Chung emphasized a firm response. In his public apology before the investigation report, he said, “All of us at Shinsegae Group, including myself, will remember our society’s history and sacrifices and will always deeply understand and respect the public’s feelings. We will fundamentally re-examine our internal systems and risk-management processes and raise our standards for social responsibility.”
Shinsegae said it will work to strengthen employees’ historical awareness and plans to visit Gwangju at an appropriate time to offer a formal apology.
However, the company maintained that Chung’s past anti-communist remarks, the product capacity (503ml), and the April 16 launch date were unrelated to this promotion.
Jeon Sang-jin, Shinsegae Group’s chief operating officer, said Chairman Chung will not evade responsibility and has made clear his commitment to lead prevention measures. Jeon added that the company will use the incident as an opportunity to reinforce its social values and responsibilities.
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