Starbucks Korea CEO fired over promotion linked to military crackdown imagery

Updated by Faith Barbara N Ruhinda at 1243 EAT on Tuesday 19 May 2026

The head of Starbucks Korea has been dismissed following a marketing campaign that evoked a violent crackdown on pro-democracy protesters, triggering widespread public outrage and drawing criticism from South Korea’s president.

Starbucks Korea said on Tuesday that CEO Son Jung-hyun had been removed from his position to take responsibility for the “inappropriate” promotional campaign, which was launched on the anniversary of the May 18, 1980, Gwangju uprising.

Shinsegae Group Chairman Chung Yong-jin “personally ordered” the dismissal of Son Jung-hyun following a “strict and thorough internal investigation,” the conglomerate said, describing the top executive as “furious” over the incident.

The group said Chung moved to “make an example of this incident so that nothing similar ever happens again,” adding that another unnamed executive involved in the campaign would also be dismissed.

Son’s removal came after he had earlier apologised for the “deep hurt” caused by a promotional campaign that used the wording “Tank Day” and “5/18” to advertise a new range of coffee tumblers.

The combination of the language and date sparked swift backlash in South Korea, with critics saying it appeared to reference the armoured vehicles used by the military during the violent suppression of pro-democracy protesters opposing then-President Chun Doo-hwan.

Shinsegae Group and Starbucks did not explain how the campaign became linked to the sensitive date. However, in his apology, Son said the promotional materials were “not thoroughly reviewed internally before the event began.”

Joining civic groups representing victims of the crackdown, South Korean President Lee Jae-myung said the campaign had mocked the “blood-soaked struggle” of the country’s democracy activists.

“I am outraged by this inhumane, bottom-feeding behavior from these low-class peddlers who deny the Republic of Korea’s community, basic human rights, and democratic values,” Lee said in a post on X.

“They must be held accountable with the corresponding moral, administrative, legal, and political responsibility.”
The Gwangju uprising, led by student protesters opposing Chun Doo-hwan’s authoritarian rule, is widely regarded as a turning point in South Korea’s democratisation, which culminated in the country’s first free elections in decades in 1987.

Acting on Chun’s orders, South Korean troops stormed the southwestern city of Gwangju in a violent crackdown on student activists who had gathered to protest the military takeover of the civilian government.

Government figures estimate that more than 200 people were killed in the suppression, although activists and historians have put the death toll as high as 2,300.

South Korea is one of Starbucks’ most important global markets.

The East Asian country is home to more than 2,000 outlets of the Seattle-based coffee chain, more than in any country outside the United States and China.

-Aljazeera

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