After President Lee Jae-myung publicly criticized not only Starbucks Korea over the "Tank Day" controversy but also Musinsa's past ad, some hardline conservative figures moved to defend the two brands in quick succession. As calls to "use them even more" emerged in response to the boycott movement, the controversy over corporations' marketing is spreading into politics and online.
Attorney Kang Yong-seok said on a YouTube live broadcast on the 20th, "Starbucks and Musinsa are brands that the 20s and 30s use a lot, and the phrases at issue were widely used as parodies or humor, so wouldn't that be why they used them?" He added, "Do you think they used them to mock?"
He added, "We should rather use Starbucks and Musinsa more. The more Lee Jae-myung attacks, the more so."
On another broadcast the same day, Kang hosted the show with Starbucks tumblers, disposable cups, and shopping bags placed on his desk. He said, "I deliberately put Starbucks products on display," adding, "It looks like leftists are waging something like a Starbucks boycott, so at least we should buy."
Lee Sang-gyu, a special advisor to the People Power Party leader who appeared on the program, said, "Starbucks shouldn't have done that kind of marketing. Musinsa also poked the wrong nerve," adding, "Young consumers could push back and head to the polls."
Korean history instructor Jeon Han-gil also addressed the Starbucks controversy on a YouTube live broadcast that day, saying, "Chung Yong-jin, the Shinsegae Group chairman, apologized and the Starbucks Korea CEO was dismissed, so it's right to wrap it up at this point," and argued, "Taking it to a boycott after that goes too far."
Jeon also described Chung as "a symbolic entrepreneur of the conservative right." He said, "Chung has long emphasized anti-communism," adding, "Isn't he known as a leading business figure symbolizing the conservative right?"
Earlier, the president shared an old Musinsa ad image on his X (formerly Twitter) and criticized it as "an ad that mocks the torture-to-death of activist Park Jong-chul."
In 2019, Musinsa promoted quick-drying socks on its own social media account using the phrase "When we slapped the quick-drying desk, it dried with a thud." Critics said the phrase recalled the police's 1987 line about Park Jong-chul's torture death: "We slapped the desk, and he went 'ugh' and died."
The president said, "It is an ad that insults and mocks the torture-to-death of activist Park Jong-chul and the June Democracy Movement it sparked," adding, "If true, it is a very serious problem." He continued, "Money may be the devil, but how can someone wearing a human mask do this?"
However, the ad was posted in 2019, and when the controversy arose at the time, Musinsa deleted the ad and issued an apology. After it became known that it was a past ad, the presidential office said, "It reflects the president's usual philosophy and resolve to root out the continued desecration, historical distortion, and trivialization of the democratization movement and its victims."
On the 18th, the president also rebuked Starbucks Korea after controversy erupted over the use of the phrases "Tap on the desk!" and "May 18 Tank Day" in a promotion selling a "tank tumbler set," saying, "I am outraged by this inhuman, bottom-of-the-barrel behavior of low-grade peddlers who deny the value of democracy."
Meanwhile, online, users identifying themselves as "right-wing" are posting proof-of-purchase content.
Actor Choi Jun-yong posted a photo on social media on the 19th of himself drinking Starbucks coffee, writing, "Coffee is S-beoks," and added the hashtag "anti-communism coffee."
Cartoonist Yoon Seo-in wrote on social media, "How do you eat tank boy in relation to May 18? How do you wear a tank top on May 18?" He added, "You should even empty all the water tanks on May 18," and "To think it's a Gwangju Democratization Movement anniversary that creates untouchable taboos and polices people with heavy-handed enforcement. Even the democratization dictators make Chun Doo-hwan shake his head."
In some online spaces, an AI-generated video also appeared that spliced images to show Chun Doo-hwan drinking a beverage with a Starbucks "tank tumbler." The video was reportedly posted on an account that had uploaded posts supporting former President Yoon Suk-yeol.