Starbucks' U.S. headquarters conveyed an official apology to 5·18 groups over the marketing controversy surrounding Starbucks Korea's "Tank Day."
According to the May 18 Memorial Foundation on the 7th, Starbucks' U.S. headquarters told the foundation on the 2nd that it "was an inappropriate marketing move that should never have happened" and that it "apologizes for the historical significance of the May 18 Democratization Movement and the pain of the victims."
Earlier, the three May 18 organizations established by law (Association of the Injured·Association of Meritorious Persons·Bereaved Families Association) and the foundation sent a letter of protest to Starbucks headquarters on the 1st, requesting a fact-finding investigation at the headquarters level, an official apology, and responsible follow-up measures.
In response, Starbucks' U.S. headquarters told the foundation that "the May groups' demands have been reported to senior management internally."
In addition, on the 29th of last month the foundation asked the National Pension Service, the second-largest shareholder of E-MART, to review ways to exercise shareholder rights. Regarding this, the National Pension Service replied with the intent that it would "review it," according to the foundation.
The foundation also said that, as a result of demanding that corporations and advertising agencies that placed ads on the far-right community Ilgan Best Archive (Ilbe), where posts distorting May 18 are uploaded, halt their ads, all related ads have been suspended.