Shinsegae Group abruptly dismissed the CEO of SCK Company (Starbucks Korea). The move is seen as a disciplinary action over the "Tank Day" event held on the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement anniversary, and Chairman Chung Yong-jin of Shinsegae Group is understood to have personally decided to replace the executive.
According to the retail industry on the 18th, CEO Son Jeong-hyeon of SCK Company was dismissed that day. Shinsegae Group notified Son of the termination. It comes about 1 year and 10 months after Son took office as the new CEO of SCK Company at the end of Oct. 2022 as a troubleshooter amid controversy over the safety of giveaway items.
The Tank Day event held on the anniversary of the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement became the reason for the dismissal. Earlier, from the 15th to the 26th, SCK Company ran a tumbler promotion event using phrases such as "Tank Day" and "Bang on the desk."
Online communities raised criticism that the expressions belittled the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement and the 1987 torture and death of activist Park Jong-cheol. Some also noted the wording sounded like something used on the far-right online community Ilgan Best (Ilbe).
SCK Company posted an apology on its app and website, saying, "We bow our heads in deep apology to all who led Korea's democratization," but as the uproar failed to subside, the company was said to have gone as far as replacing the CEO.
In particular, Chairman Chung Yong-jin was said to have personally decided on the dismissal. When Starbucks faced controversy over carcinogenic substances in giveaway items earlier, Chung also replaced Song Ho-seob, the SCK Company CEO who had led Starbucks for four years, appointing then Shinsegae INC CEO Son Jeong-hyeon to the top post.
Born in 1968, former SCK Korea CEO Son graduated from Seoul High School and the Korea University Department of International Trade, and earned an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Son, who joined Shinsegae Group in 2015, rose to CEO of Shinsegae INC in 2020, five years later.
SCK Korea said it will "conduct training for all employees to establish stricter historical awareness and ethical standards, and carry out thorough pre-screening procedures for marketing events to do our utmost to prevent any recurrence."