Translation result. ![\"21\uc77c\"](\"https:\/\/cdn-union.tenbizt.com\/contents\/crawler-dev\/image\/2026\/05\/CP-2023-0083\/image-61614446-5f22-42aa-ab3e-523214324975.jpeg\")
[Herald Economy = Reporter Jang Yeon-ju] Starbucks is facing intense backlash after a “Tank Day” promotion that evoked the May 18 pro-democracy movement, and an internal employee\u2019s post accusing a female staffer of planning the campaign has drawn attention.<\/p>\n
Recently, the anonymous workplace forum Blind published a post titled “A partner acting like an Ilbe user.”<\/p>\n
The post, attributed to someone identified as a Starbucks Korea employee (A), said, “Thousands of partners are suffering because of you.” A wrote that partners who needed schedule extensions lost them and are struggling to make ends meet, store managers are forced to rewrite work and sales plans, and district managers are running between headquarters and stores trying to close communication gaps \u2014 they\u2019re exhausted.<\/p>\n
He added, “Even the small bonuses are at risk, and despite district managers’ efforts, the communication gap between headquarters and stores hasn’t narrowed. Do you feel any guilt?”<\/p>\n
He also described the mood at stores after the controversy.<\/p>\n
“Why didn\u2019t you at least try to hide it? Your thoughtless stunt has put dozens of people at immediate risk of being fired. Partners are apologizing to customers for something they didn\u2019t do and walking on eggshells because of you,” A wrote.<\/p>\n
“You should never forget this,” he continued. “You must live knowing that a single gesture or remark of yours has harmed thousands.”<\/p>\n
A said he had endured difficult times and resentment toward the company because he had worked there for five years, and he expressed dismay that one person’s action could so quickly destabilize the company.<\/p>\n
He appealed to headquarters: “If this reaches the company, please hire the right people. Don\u2019t hire based on connections; evaluate character. Make sure partners’ months and years of work here aren\u2019t wasted.”<\/p>\n
In a comment, another person believed to be an internal employee (B) alleged, “The staffer who planned this marketing is a female team member. She walks around with her head held high, saying, ‘I feel no guilt and it wasn\u2019t intentional.'” <\/p>\n
B added that only the male executives who backed that staffer have been dismissed, saying, “They brought it on themselves.”<\/p>\n
Separately, on the 18th, Starbucks ran a tumbler promotion that used phrases such as “Tank Day” and “Bang it on the desk” \u2014 wording that recalled the martial-law troops’ equipment during the May 18 uprising and the torture and death of activist Park Jong-chul \u2014 and drew severe criticism. Chung Yong-jin, chairman of Shinsegae Group, issued a personal apology and removed Starbucks Korea CEO Son Jeong-hyun and related executives, but the boycott and controversy continue.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Starbucks faces backlash over ‘Tank Day’ marketing linked to the Gwangju Uprising, prompting internal employee criticism of the campaign.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/cdn-union.tenbizt.com\/contents\/crawler-dev\/thumbnail\/2026\/05\/CP-2023-0083\/thumb-4174f6cb-b3f4-4773-91db-72e55cecae27.jpg","footnotes":""},"categories":[278100],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-261654","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-social"],"yoast_head":"\n