"I Won't Touch Starbucks"... Will the Boycott Spread to E-Mart?

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[Financial News] The controversy over Starbucks' 'Tank Day' event on the anniversary of the May 18 Democratic Uprising is spreading into a collective boycott movement.
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A historian with 1.13 million YouTube subscribers said he would boycott Starbucks after explaining the historical significance of the May 18 Democratic Uprising and the Park Jong-chul torture death case in 1987.
Hwang Hyun-pil, head of the Institute for Correcting History in Gwangju, said, "I will no longer personally drink Starbucks coffee," adding that he would also remove the Starbucks tumbler from his office.
Boycott declarations are also continuing online. Some users have posted photos and videos on social networking service (SNS) platforms showing Starbucks mugs smashed with hammers or tumblers and coffee capsules thrown into trash bags. On Threads and X, formerly Twitter, posts such as "Goodbye, Starbucks" and "I'm joining the Starbucks boycott" have continued to appear.
Refund certifications for Starbucks reload cards are also spreading. Users are sharing the rules for refunding balances on prepaid cards, explaining the process or posting proof photos. Some have complained, saying, "You can only get a refund after using more than 60% of the balance."
The controversy appears to be spreading beyond Starbucks to Shinsegae affiliates as a whole. On online communities and SNS, lists of Shinsegae-related brands such as Starfield, No Brand Burger, Shinsegae Department Store, and E-Mart are being shared, along with posts calling for boycotts. Some users reacted by saying, "This is on a different level from past boycott issues," "I even deleted the app," and "I refunded all my gifticons."
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Lawmakers from the Democratic Party of Korea voiced unanimous criticism of the Starbucks event on the 19th.
Bok Ki-wang, a Democratic Party lawmaker, posted a video on his Instagram account showing him throwing a disposable Starbucks cup in front of his National Assembly office. He also said, "Starbucks has insulted history, so I won't drink it and I won't allow it to be brought in."
Lawmaker Oh Ki-hyung also wrote on his Facebook page that day, "I skipped Starbucks today. I used to drink coffee every morning at the Starbucks in front of camp, but after seeing reports about the Tank Day event, I no longer felt like going back in."
He added, "A company doing business in our country is mocking the spirit of the May 18 Democratic Uprising," and said, "It will be difficult to use it until there are sincere measures and real change."
Kwon Young-guk, the Justice Party candidate for Seoul mayor, also expressed his boycott stance, saying, "Starbucks is no longer in my vocabulary."
By contrast, the People Power Party posted what appeared to be a defense of Starbucks, then apologized after facing a flood of criticism.
That day, an official SNS account of the People Power Party Chungcheongbuk-do Provincial Party posted, "I should stop by Starbucks tomorrow morning on my way to work," sparking controversy.
In addition, a supportive comment reading, "(Starbucks) I should go there and eat a sandwich," was posted from the account of Kim Sun-min, the People Power Party candidate for mayor of Geoje. The provincial party account then replied, "Tomorrow morning will be a sandwich," adding fuel to the controversy. 
As criticism intensified, the Chungcheongbuk-do Provincial Party deleted the post and issued an official apology. 
y27k@fnnews.com Seo Yoon-kyung Reporter