Starbucks U.S. Headquarters Bows Its Head... Issues Official Apology to May 18 Organizations

"'Tank Day' was an inappropriate marketing campaign"
Apologizing for the historical significance and the pain suffered by victims

The U.S. headquarters of Starbucks has officially apologized to organizations related to the May 18 Democratization Movement for the controversy surrounding Starbucks Korea's "Tank Day" marketing campaign.

On June 7, the May 18 Memorial Foundation announced that it had received a response from Starbucks' U.S. headquarters stating that the incident was "an inappropriate marketing campaign that should never have happened." Starbucks headquarters expressed to the foundation, "We apologize for the historical significance of the May 18 Democratization Movement and the pain suffered by its victims," adding, "The demands of the May organizations have been reported to our senior management team."

Starbucks' U.S. headquarters officially apologized to the May 18th organization regarding the "Tank Day" incident. Photo by Starbucks

On June 1, the May 18 Memorial Foundation and the three official organizations related to the May 18 Democratization Movement (the Association of the Injured, the Association of Merit, and the Bereaved Families Association) sent an official letter of protest to Starbucks' U.S. headquarters regarding Starbucks Korea's May 18 "Tank Day" marketing campaign. In the English-language letter addressed to the CEO and Board of Directors of Starbucks' U.S. headquarters, the foundation and organizations demanded a thorough investigation, accountability for those responsible, and an official apology.

In the letter, they stated, "The May 18 Democratization Movement is a symbol of democracy in the Republic of Korea and a UNESCO Memory of the World," and added, "Just ahead of the May 18 anniversary, Starbucks Korea conducted a marketing campaign that prominently featured a 'tank'—a symbol of the military dictatorship's massacre that forcibly suppressed Gwangju citizens and claimed innocent lives in May 1980—causing deep pain to the victims, their families, and citizens."

They further emphasized, "Although Starbucks is a global company that upholds diversity, equity, inclusion (DEI), human rights, and social responsibility as its core values, the ahistorical actions of its Korean operator, Emart (Shinsegae Group), have seriously damaged the reputation and brand value that Starbucks has built. If responsible action is not taken immediately, it would be tantamount to admitting that Starbucks' proclaimed global human rights standards have collapsed in the Korean market."

Additionally, on May 29, they requested the National Pension Service, the second-largest shareholder of Emart, to review exercising its shareholder rights regarding Emart, Starbucks Korea's largest shareholder. In response, on June 2, the National Pension Service replied that it would review the proposal.

The foundation also demanded that companies and advertising agencies stop advertising on Ilbe Storage, a far-right online community that posts distorted content about the May 18 Democratization Movement, and reported that all related advertisements have since been halted. The May 18 Memorial Foundation plans to continue monitoring whether companies place advertisements on Ilbe Storage and other online communities that distribute posts distorting, disparaging, mocking, or defaming the May 18 Democratization Movement.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.