Starbucks Korea Scandal: Why a ‘Tank Day’ Promotion Sparked Outrage

Daniel Kim 2026.05.27 Views

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[MyDaily = Reporter Lee Hobin] Shinsegae Group Chairman Chung Yong-jin issued a public apology over the controversy surrounding Starbucks Korea’s “Tank Day” promotion.

At a morning press conference on the 26th at the Chosun Palace Hotel in Gangnam, Seoul, Chung read a statement and said, “I stand here with a heavy and remorseful heart.” He added, “As chairman of Shinsegae Group, I sincerely bow and apologize to the bereaved families of the May 18 Democratic Movement, the family of activist Park Jong-chul, the citizens of Gwangju, and all who suffered deep pain and disappointment from this incident.”

While reading the statement, Chung stepped down from the podium, bowed his head and apologized in person.

“I take very seriously that many people felt deep hurt and anger over Starbucks Korea’s inappropriate marketing,” he said. “Whatever the reason, the responsibility for wounding the public’s feelings rests squarely with us.”

“I will not offer any excuses,” he added. “I accept full responsibility for this matter. Every member of Shinsegae Group, including myself, will remember our society’s history and sacrifices and will deeply understand and respect the public’s feelings.”

Chung also urged restraint in directing harsh criticism toward frontline employees. “I ask that you regard the many Starbucks Korea partners and store staff working quietly across the country with more compassion,” he said. “They are diligent workers who do their best for every customer, often working late and maintaining a humble attitude.”

He made clear, however, that accountability rests with the organization and management, not the store staff. “All members of Shinsegae Group, myself included, will learn humbly from this and work harder,” Chung said. “We will listen more and accept greater responsibility.”

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Shinsegae Group also released the findings of its internal investigation the same day. Jeon Sang-jin, the group’s chief operating officer, presented the results.

“Beginning on the 19th, the day after the incident, we launched an intensive, weeklong internal probe targeting the Starbucks Korea employees involved,” Jeon said. “The core question was whether those employees and Starbucks Korea executives planned this marketing with a specific intent.”

The group determined the promotion originated with Starbucks Korea’s e-commerce team and then moved up an approval chain that included the team leader, the responsible executive, the division head, the CEO and the board. Shinsegae conducted laptop forensic analyses and cross-examinations across the approving departments, the strategic planning office and the CEO’s decision line.

“So far, our investigation has not uncovered clear evidence proving that the staff and executives intentionally planned this marketing with malicious intent,” Jeon said.

He acknowledged limits to the probe. “Three members of the commerce team, including the employee who proposed the ‘Tank Day’ name, refused to hand over their phones, preventing us from verifying their conversations and work records,” Jeon explained. “Company messenger logs are retained on the server for only one week, so we could not review communications from the initial planning stage.”

As a result, the group has withheld a final determination on intent. It said it will immediately discipline any employees found by police investigations to have intended to disparage the May 18 Democratic Movement, and pursue civil and criminal liability as appropriate.

“Given the gravity of this matter, we have removed all five employees involved from their duties and dismissed the CEO and the responsible executive,” Jeon said. “If any member of senior management is found to have intervened inappropriately or acted with intent, we will hold them accountable regardless of rank.”

Separately from questions about intent, Shinsegae acknowledged serious flaws in Starbucks Korea’s marketing approval and risk-management systems.

“The campaign passed a four-step reporting process—team leader, responsible executive, division head and CEO—but nobody flagged that calling it ‘Tank Day’ on May 18 was inappropriate,” Jeon said.

“No concerns were raised during planning or approval,” he added. “We found that some of the seven approvers did not even open the email attachments containing the design mock-ups and approved them out of routine.”

He said a legal review that had been required in the past was skipped in the rush to meet the marketing timeline. “Prioritizing immediacy meant the legal-team verification process did not run,” Jeon said. “This incident goes beyond individual errors; it exposed a lack of awareness within Starbucks Korea about social and historical sensitivities and significant gaps in its risk-management framework.”

The group also addressed certain online allegations as inaccurate. Regarding claims that the “Tank” tumbler name and capacity hinted at a specific historical event or figure, it said, “The product was made by an overseas manufacturer, and the name was officially explained as inspired by an actual water tank. The 503㎖ capacity equals 17 fl oz.”

It rejected suggestions that the mini tank tumbler’s April 16 release date targeted the Sewol ferry tragedy, saying the date aligned with the event vendor’s brand-day schedule. It also said the 21% discount on the Tank Duo set—alleged to reference the military’s mass shooting during the May 18 movement—was simply the discount calculated during price adjustments for the set’s components.

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Chung said the company will comprehensively overhaul its internal risk controls in response to the incident.

“We will fundamentally review our internal systems and risk-management processes and raise our standards for social responsibility,” he said. “Let today’s apology be a beginning, not an end.”

“We will follow through with actions, not just words, and rebuild public trust through substantive change from the ground up,” he added. “Once again, I sincerely bow and apologize to everyone who was hurt.”