Starbucks faces South Korean backlash following campaign echoing 1987 massacre

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Starbucks faces South Korean backlash following campaign echoing 1987 massacre Asia / Pacific

Issued on: 26/05/2026 - 16:19

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It's a scandal that just won't go away for Starbucks in South Korea. The chairman of the coffee chain's local corporate majority owner was compelled to issue a second public apology in the wake of the company's disastrous "Tank Day" promotion launched earlier this month. Many Koreans saw the campaign's name as a reference to a deadly 1980 crackdown in which hundreds of pro-democracy protesters were killed by the country's military dictatorship. The campaign was quickly scrapped, but it hasn't quelled public furor.

Video by: Bryan QUINN Keywords for this article

• South Korea
• Starbucks
• boycotts

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