[\uc5f0\ud569\ub274\uc2a4]<\/span>\n<\/div>\n Starbucks Korea is facing intense criticism for promotional language that appeared to mock the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement and the torture death of Park Jong-chul, and Gwangju-area stores have seen a sharp drop in customers. Yonhap reported on May 20 that major Starbucks locations in Gwangju were unusually quiet at lunchtime.A store in Seo-gu that normally fills with office workers and students had most of its roughly 50 seats empty. Only a few customers in a corner had laptops open to work or were reading. An apology from Starbucks Korea was posted on a bulletin board next to the pickup counter.A Buk-gu store presented a similar scene. Despite being near a large apartment complex and steady foot traffic, the roughly 100-seat location had only about five customers. With so few patrons, staff spent more time restocking and tidying the store.When asked whether business had fallen after the “Tank Day” controversy, an employee said, “It’s noticeable \u2014 we’ve definitely seen fewer customers.”Earlier, Starbucks Korea promoted a tumbler campaign on the eve of the May 18 commemoration using the phrases “Tank Day” and “\ucc45\uc0c1\uc5d0 \ud0c1” (literally “thud on the desk”), which drew criticism. As the controversy spread, Starbucks halted the promotion and issued an official apology.#Starbucks #TankDay #Gwangju #stores Yonhap News TV \u2014 Inquiries and tips: KakaoTalk\/LINE jebo23; Lee Jun-heum (humi@yna.co.kr)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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\ud55c\uc0b0\ud55c \uad11\uc8fc \uc2a4\ud0c0\ubc85\uc2a4 \ub9e4\uc7a5<\/span>[\uc5f0\ud569\ub274\uc2a4]<\/span>[\uc5f0\ud569\ub274\uc2a4]<\/span>\n<\/div>\n