Police step up probe into Shinsegae chief over Starbucks Korea's 'Tank Day' event

“Police said Friday they were questioning a civic activist who filed a complaint against Shinsegae Group Chairman Chung Yong-jin over Starbucks Korea's controversial marketing campaign. Kim Soon-hwan, secretary general of the People's Welfare Countermeasure Committee, appeared before the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's public crime investigation team to be questioned about the complaint filed Wednesday. In the complaint, the civic group alleged that Chung and Sohn Jeong-hyun, former head of Starbucks Korea, defamed and insulted victims of the May 18 pro-democracy movement in 1980 through the coffee franchise's "Tank Day" promotional event. On Monday, Starbucks Korea, operated under Shinsegae in Korea, launched the "tank" coffee tumbler promotion, which coincided with the anniversary of the May 18 democracy uprising in the southwestern city of Gwangju. The marketing campaign was scrapped within hours of its launch following public backlash over the word "tank," which evoked painful memories of the military deploying tanks to clamp down on pro-democracy protesters. Its promotional materia

Summary generated from the RSS feed of Korea Times Southkorea. All article rights belong to the original publisher. Click through to read the full piece on www.koreatimes.co.kr.