Starbucks' U.S. headquarters has issued a formal apology to groups associated with the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement over the "Tank Day" controversy.
According to industry sources Saturday, the three statutory May 18 organizations—the Bereaved Families Association, the Injured Persons Association, and the Persons of Merit Association—and the May 18 Memorial Foundation recently received a letter from Starbucks' U.S. headquarters offering a formal apology, calling the incident "inappropriate marketing that should never have happened." Earlier, on Sunday, these groups had sent a letter to Starbucks' U.S. headquarters demanding a headquarters-level investigation, an apology, and responsible measures. The May 18 groups plan to provide further explanation of why Korean society views this issue as serious, and to continue monitoring whether follow-up measures are implemented.
The groups also asked the National Pension Service (NPS), the second-largest shareholder of E-Mart, to review ways to exercise shareholder rights over E-Mart, the largest shareholder of Starbucks Korea, on the 29th of last month. The foundation said the NPS sent a reply on Tuesday to the effect that it would "review the proposal."
Starbucks had sparked controversy by running promotions using phrases such as "Tank Day" and "tak of the desk" on the 18th of last month, the 46th anniversary of the May 18 Democratization Movement. Immediately after the controversy, Shinsegae Group dismissed the CEO of Starbucks, and controlling shareholder Chairman Chung Yong-jin issued a public apology.
