"A simple mistake? Something long festering finally blew up" ... Starbucks 'Tank Day' fiasco spreads to Shinsegae chairman Chung Yong-jin

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[Financial News] Starbucks Korea's 'May 18 Tank Day' promotion has gone beyond a simple marketing mistake and is now snowballing into a major owner risk that is shaking the entire Shinsegae Group. Shinsegae Group Chairman Chung Yong-jin issued a public apology and took the drastic step of dismissing the CEO, but the backlash is only growing as the company's broken internal system and the chairman's past political remarks are being dragged back into the spotlight, fueling a boycott that is spreading out of control.
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On the 18th, Starbucks drew fierce criticism after running a tumbler promotion to mark the May 18 Democratic Uprising anniversary and using phrases such as 'Tank Day' and 'Tap on the desk.' The wording clearly evoked the armored vehicles deployed by martial law troops in Gwangju Metropolitan City and the 1987 torture death of activist Park Jong-chul. Some internet users also voiced suspicion, linking the number '7' emphasized in the promotional image and the tumbler's 503 mL capacity to specific political meanings.
At the start of the controversy, Starbucks quietly tried to contain the damage by changing the event name to 'Tank Tumbler Day' and the slogan to 'Tap, under construction,' but it eventually canceled the event as public opinion worsened.
Chairman Chung Yong-jin apologized to the public on the 19th, saying it was "an inexcusable mistake," and immediately dismissed Jeonghyeon Son, the head of Starbucks Korea, along with the executive in charge of planning.
Political criticism, however, has been harsh. After Lee Jae Myung strongly condemned the incident as "a bottom-of-the-barrel act," Son Sol, the chief spokesperson for the Progressive Party, posted a video of herself cutting up a Starbucks card.
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Industry experts say this incident was not the result of one employee's misconduct, but of structural problems throughout Starbucks' organization.
The first problem cited is the collapse of the internal review system. Marketing content for a major brand normally goes through multiple approval stages, but this 'Tank Day' proposal passed through the e-commerce team without any restraint. Even setting aside the planner's lack of historical awareness, the desk review and approval line that should have caught it did not function at all.
Another issue is a management strategy that places excessive emphasis on short-term profits from merchandise marketing rather than the core food and beverage business. Merchandise now accounts for about 10% of Starbucks' total sales, or roughly 300 billion won a year. With hundreds of events pushed out in haste each year, critics say accidents have kept piling up, from the 2022 carcinogen-tainted Summer Carry Bag scandal to the 2023 mini humidifier recall and now this latest fiasco.
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The biggest reason consumer anger is not easing is that this incident overlaps with Chairman Chung Yong-jin's existing image, amplifying its explosive impact.
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The boycott is also spreading. Social media is filling with verification videos of people smashing Starbucks tumblers and mugs with hammers, and the damage appears to be spreading beyond Starbucks to all Shinsegae Group affiliates, including E-Mart and SSG.COM.
The Shinsegae Group, which has suffered a serious blow to brand trust, is now putting everything into damage control by promising a thorough investigation into what happened, a full review of marketing screening procedures across all affiliates, and strict historical awareness training for executives and employees.
But one retail industry official said, "It will take a considerable amount of time to restore the trust of disappointed consumers," adding that the group needs painful, sweeping reform.
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moon@fnnews.com Moon Young-jin Reporter