Starbucks Korea weekly sales sink 8 billion won in wake of 'Tank Day' controversy
Published: 27 May. 2026, 14:24
![Members of a civic organization hold a protest against Shinsegae Group, the owner of Starbucks Korea, against the coffee franchise's ″Tank Day″ promotion, on May 27, in Gwanghwamun, central Seoul. Seen in the picture is the face of Chung Yong-jin, chairman of Shinsegae Group. [YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/05/27/d1addd78-989b-4ccd-a275-f735fea48d50.jpg)
Members of a civic organization hold a protest against Shinsegae Group, the owner of Starbucks Korea, against the coffee franchise's ″Tank Day″ promotion, on May 27, in Gwanghwamun, central Seoul. Seen in the picture is the face of Chung Yong-jin, chairman of Shinsegae Group. [YONHAP]
Starbucks Korea’s weekly payment volume dropped by more than 8 billion won ($5.3 million) in the week following controversy over its “Tank Day” event, data showed Wednesday.
According to Mobile Index, operated by AI tech company IGAWorks, Starbucks Korea recorded 23.69 billion won in weekly payments between May 18 — when the controversy erupted — and Sunday.
The figure marked a decrease of about 8.47 billion won from 32.16 billion won recorded the previous week, from May 11 to 17, representing a 26.3 percent decline. Compared with the 31.48 billion won posted between May 4 and 10, payment volume also fell by about 25 percent.
Shinsegae Group Chairman Chung Yong-jin had publicly acknowledged “a significant decline in sales" during his apology on Tuesday.
Starbucks Korea also showed signs of slowing new user inflow in its app metrics. New installations of the Starbucks app totaled 36,994 between May 18 and Sunday, down by 11,447 from 48,441 the previous week. The decrease amounted to 23.6 percent. During the same period, the Starbucks app fell from No. 2 to No. 5 in rankings for new installations among food and beverage brand apps.
Many point to the simultaneous decline in Starbucks payment volume and new app installations as a sign that the controversy may have affected brand trust and consumer sentiment to some extent.
![A Starbucks cafe is seen in Seoul on May 27, 2026. [NEWS1]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/05/27/e7d97dea-dea4-4a48-89e1-cdc3ccb11980.jpg)
A Starbucks cafe is seen in Seoul on May 27, 2026. [NEWS1]
However, the app’s weekly user count rose 4.7 percent, or 182,072 users, from 3,903,668 to 4,085,740 during the same period, which onlookers wager as a temporary drive by existing users accessing the app more frequently to check for possible coupons, rewards and their prepaid balances.
Earlier, Starbucks Korea faced backlash after using phrases such as “Desk bang! Tank Day” for a tumbler discount event held on May 18, the anniversary of the 1980 Gwangju Democratization Movement. Critics said the wording mocked the historic pro-democracy uprising.
The Korean-owned coffee franchise came under fire earlier this year after Starbucks Korea — a Shinsegae Group affiliate — used the slogan "Tank Day" to market tumblers on May 18. 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.
![Chung Yong-jin, chairman of Shinsegae Group, apologizes over the Starbucks Korea ″Tank Day″ controversy at the Josun Palace hotel in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, on May 26, 2026. [YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/05/27/741f2d50-3783-41f6-bd0c-1f34d9e54601.jpg)
Chung Yong-jin, chairman of Shinsegae Group, apologizes over the Starbucks Korea ″Tank Day″ controversy at the Josun Palace hotel in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, on May 26, 2026. [YONHAP]
The promotional materials also used “Tak! on the desk!” The phrase recalls the infamous police statement issued after student activist Park Jong-cheol’s death by torture. “Tak” is a Korean onomatopoeia used to describe a sharp sound, often from one object hitting another, similar to the English language’s “bang.”
Shinsegae Chairman Chung made a rare mea culpa and expressed his remorse for the controversy. Shinsegae Group conducted an internal investigation into the incident and announced that it found no clear evidence of deliberate intent to mock the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY KIM JI-HYE [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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