After the "Tank Day" marketing controversy, Starbucks Korea's companywide history education for all employees was nothing more than a performative response that sidestepped the essence of the problem, critics said.
On the 26th, Bloomberg criticized Starbucks Korea's follow-up response as inappropriate in a column titled "Starbucks Korea Marketing Debacle Is Far From Over."
Bloomberg noted that while Starbucks Korea faced a strong backlash last month over its "Tank Day" marketing and ad copy that evoked the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement, the problem was caused not by store employees but by the marketing team and management. It also assessed that the company's mandatory history education for baristas and service staff at stores nationwide could be seen as a performative response rather than a sincere apology.
Earlier, on the 22nd, Shinsegae Group closed operations early at 3 p.m. at 2,160 stores nationwide and conducted education on historical awareness and social sensitivity for all employees. It was the first time since entering the country in 1999 that Starbucks Korea simultaneously closed all stores early nationwide. On the 17th, training was held for executives of E-MART affiliates and Starbucks Korea headquarters employees.
Bloomberg projected that this response could instead deepen consumer distrust, raising the possibility that a sales slump will persist in Korea, Starbucks' third-largest market after the United States and China. It also reported that sales, which plunged immediately after the controversy, had not recovered to prior levels even by the first week of this month.
The column also cited as a problem that the situation has expanded from a simple corporate controversy to a political dispute. After President Lee Jae-myung publicly criticized the company, some government ministries and public institutions switched Starbucks gift cards they had used as event prizes to other brands. People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok also criticized the government response, saying ahead of the local elections, "Let's go to the polling place with Starbucks coffee."
Bloomberg analyzed that if the controversy turns into a partisan showdown, the focus could shift from corporate wrongdoing to debates over freedom of expression, making the issue harder to resolve. It also mentioned the case of U.S. beer brand Bud Light, whose sales ultimately failed to recover after collaborating with a transgender influencer in 2023, noting that the longer controversies drag on, the less corporations have to gain.
It also stressed that for Starbucks Korea to rebuild trust, the company needs to demonstrate through actions—more than through history education itself—that it fully understands its wrongdoing, suggesting as one option collaborating with or supporting trusted civic groups such as the May 18 Memorial Foundation in Gwangju. It added that management should explain to consumers whether the history education and improvements to marketing approval procedures will actually lead to changes in corporate culture.
Bloomberg emphasized, "For Starbucks Korea to restore its reputation, management must prove through actions that it has learned the right lessons from this incident."