{"id":261679,"date":"2026-05-24T01:06:16","date_gmt":"2026-05-23T16:06:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tenbizt.com\/en\/news\/uncategorized\/2026\/05\/24\/is-the-government-targeting-starbucks-why-this-boycott-is-dangerous\/"},"modified":"2026-05-24T01:06:16","modified_gmt":"2026-05-23T16:06:16","slug":"is-the-government-targeting-starbucks-why-this-boycott-is-dangerous","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tenbizt.com\/en\/news\/politics\/2026\/05\/24\/is-the-government-targeting-starbucks-why-this-boycott-is-dangerous\/","title":{"rendered":"Is the Government Targeting Starbucks? Why This Boycott is Dangerous"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Translation result<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn-union.tenbizt.com\/contents\/crawler-dev\/image\/2026\/05\/CP-2023-0083\/image-e6f0b96d-cc26-455f-89da-87cdaef60b86.jpeg\" alt=\"\uc2a4\ud0c0\ubc85\uc2a4\" \ub9e4\uc7a5 [\ub274\uc2dc\uc2a4] class=\"img_LSize\"> [Herald Economy = Reporter Lee Myung\u2011soo] Vice Chair Lee Byung\u2011tae of the Regulatory Rationalization Committee criticized government ministries\u2019 encouragement of a boycott against Starbucks over remarks that belittled the May 18 pro-democracy movement, calling any boycott involving state power \u201ca very dangerous measure.\u201d<\/p>\n<p> On May 22, Lee posted a lengthy statement on Facebook. He sharply criticized boycotts led or encouraged by the government, public agencies, or politicians, arguing they produce many harmful side effects\u2014unlike consumer-led boycotts, which reflect voluntary choices by individual shoppers to avoid a company\u2019s products.<\/p>\n<p> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn-union.tenbizt.com\/contents\/crawler-dev\/image\/2026\/05\/CP-2023-0083\/image-d291aa60-1aa2-4b9c-802d-4121a7e504c8.jpeg\" alt=\"\uc774\ubcd1\ud0dc\" \uaddc\uc81c\ud569\ub9ac\ud654\uc704\uc6d0\ud68c \ubd80\uc704\uc6d0\uc7a5 [\ub274\uc2dc\uc2a4] class=\"img_LSize\"> Lee argued first that government-driven boycotts undermine the predictability essential to a market economy. He warned that stigmatizing a company in the absence of clear legal wrongdoing, and allowing the government to assume the role of moral arbiter, invites arbitrariness and corrodes the rule of law. He also listed several specific concerns: chain harm to innocent workers and small business owners; a drop in investment and damage to the nation\u2019s international credibility; violations of international trade norms and the risk of retaliatory measures; and deeper political polarization.<\/p>\n<p> \u201cWhen the government or public institutions use public authority and budgets as weapons to target a private firm\u2014joining or leading a boycott\u2014they cross the bounds of the rule of law,\u201d Lee said, warning that such actions are likely to boomerang, ultimately harming economically vulnerable people and eroding the country\u2019s reputation.<\/p>\n<p> He added, \u201cConsumers may choose to boycott, but those in power must not intervene,\u201d and asked rhetorically, \u201cDo we want to become an authoritarian country like China?\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Vice Chairman Lee Byung-tae criticized government-led boycotts against Starbucks, warning of their dangers to market stability and consumer rights.<\/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-bbfac825-f320-42b8-9097-13c93d28e965.jpg","footnotes":""},"categories":[278093],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-261679","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Is the Government Targeting Starbucks? 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