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Starbucks backlash turns political in Korea as parties clash ahead of June 3 vote

Published: 23 May. 2026, 15:23

SEO JI-EUN
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Starbucks tumblers and cups are seen broken and dented at a press conference condemning Starbucks Korea held in front of the E-Mart Gwangju branch on May 21. [YONHAP]

A marketing controversy involving Starbucks Korea has become a flashpoint in Korea's June 3 local elections, with the ruling party and government agencies leading a public boycott while the opposition party accuses them of political manipulation.

The dispute stems from a May 18 promotion by Starbucks — a Shinsegae Group affiliate — that used the slogan "Tank Day" to market tumblers. The campaign drew immediate backlash for invoking imagery of military tanks on the anniversary of the 1980 Gwangju democracy movement, when martial law troops were deployed against pro-democracy protesters.

Shinsegae Group chairman Chung Yong-jin fired the head of Starbucks Korea the same day and issued a public apology.

The ruling Democratic Party (DP) has shown no sign of standing down.

DP leader Jung Chung-rae said at a campaign committee meeting on Friday that the boycott would spread "like wildfire" from Gwangju and called on Chairman Chung to "kneel before the public and beg forgiveness."

He also announced plans to push a bill through the National Assembly to criminalize the distortion of the May 18 democratic movement immediately after the June 3 vote.

The DP's aggressive posture — from individual candidates to party leadership — reflects a deliberate political calculation.

The Starbucks controversy maps directly onto the party's core campaign message of holding "insurrectionist forces" accountable. With conservative voters consolidating in the final stretch of the race and the electoral landscape shifting, the party stands to gain the most if the May 18 controversy dominates — it keeps the conservative camp's historical failures in the spotlight at a critical moment.

President Lee Jae Myung has weighed in directly.

He wrote on X on Monday that he was "outraged by the inhumane conduct of a low-grade merchant."

President Lee Jae Myung speaks during the 22nd Cabinet meeting and the ninth emergency economic review meeting held at the Blue House on May 20. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

On Thursday, while buying coffee at a cafe in Seoul's Ikseondong neighborhood, he pointedly asked whether it was "that coffee" — a reference to Starbucks.

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety, the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs and the Gwangju city government all joined the public boycott on Thursday. The following day, the Ministry of Justice instructed the Supreme Prosecutors' Office to audit Starbucks purchases by its offices.

The DP has also pushed the controversy into business territory.

Rep. Lee Kai-ho called on Starbucks' U.S. headquarters to terminate its contract with the Korean operator, and urged Gwangju mayoral front-runner Min Hyung-bae to conduct a full review of Shinsegae's planned shopping complex development in the city.

The opposition has pushed back sharply.

PPP lawmaker Na Kyung-won described the government's actions as "a state-led people's tribunal, with massive state power inflicting merciless collective punishment on a private company's marketing mistake."

PPP leader Jang Dong-hyeok argued that if the president's outrage over the Starbucks incident was genuine, he should apply the same standard to DP Seoul mayoral candidate Chong Won-o, who has claimed a 1995 assault conviction stemmed from a dispute over views on the 1980 democratic movement — an explanation the PPP says is false.

"By the same logic, Chong should be asked to step down," Jang said.

PPP spokesman Park Sung-hoon called government agency participation in the boycott "highly inappropriate interference by public institutions funded by taxpayer money."

Minor Reform Party leader Lee Jun-seok described President Lee's criticism as "excessive" and asked on Facebook whether the DP, having called for the removal of Starbucks' chief, was prepared to remove its own candidate.

The Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs said it had conducted a full review of the use of Starbucks gift vouchers at official events over the past two to three years and issued an internal ban on their further use.

The ministry's current head, Kwon Oh-eul, posted on X that he was expressing "deep regret and grave concern" over Starbucks' conduct — even as a predecessor in that role, now running for parliament on the PPP ticket, had signed a partnership agreement with Starbucks in 2023 to support descendants of national merit recipients.

BY OH SO-YEONG [[email protected]]