2026年5月26日 / 美国东部时间上午5:50 / 哥伦比亚广播公司/美联社
韩国首尔——韩国零售巨头郑溶镇周二发表了两周内的第二次道歉。此前，星巴克韩国当地业务因近期一则营销活动引发强烈反弹，该活动被广泛认为是在嘲讽1980年军方镇压亲民主抗议者的惨案受害者。
作为拥有星巴克韩国67.5%股份的新世界集团董事长，郑溶镇在电视声明中三度鞠躬，恳请1980年被该国前军事独裁政权杀害的民主活动人士家属以及广大公众原谅。
2026年5月26日，在韩国首尔朝鲜宫殿豪华精选酒店举行的新闻发布会上，新世界集团董事长郑溶镇就星巴克韩国光州民主化运动“坦克日”营销宣传活动正式公开道歉。克里斯·荣 / 努图片社 via 盖蒂图片社
这家咖啡连锁店此前将一款大号随行杯称为“坦克”，并宣布将5月18日定为“坦克日”来促销该产品，此举引发了公愤。5月18日是韩国南部城市光州民主起义的纪念日，当时军队、坦克和直升机对起义进行了残酷镇压，造成数百人伤亡。
该活动的口号“拍桌一击！”更是加剧了公众愤怒，许多人认为这是在影射1987年臭名昭著的警方声明。当时警方为掩盖学生活动人士朴钟哲被酷刑折磨致死的真相，声称朴钟哲是在调查人员“拍桌一击”后突然死亡的。
该促销活动立即引发众怒，新世界集团在数小时内就取消了活动，并解雇了星巴克韩国首席执行官。警方也根据光州遇难者家属的投诉展开了调查。
“我非常重视星巴克韩国不当营销活动给许多人带来的深切痛苦和愤怒，”郑溶镇周二表示。
2026年5月26日，在韩国首尔举行的关于星巴克韩国营销活动的新闻发布会上，新世界集团董事长郑溶镇出席。克里斯·荣 / 努图片社 via 盖蒂图片社
他还呼吁民众不要将怒火发泄到星巴克门店员工身上，称责任在于管理层。目前尚无门店发生重大事件的即时报道。
郑溶镇曾于5月19日首次道歉，当时他在声明中表示，该活动“给5·18民主化运动的遇难者、遗属以及全体公众带来了深切痛苦”。
新世界集团高级执行官全相振表示，公司尚未找到确凿证据证明星巴克韩国的营销员工有意嘲讽亲民主运动，涉事员工也否认了这一指控。
但他补充称，在为期一周的内部审查中，部分员工拒绝了管理层交出智能手机的要求。全相振表示，公司将参考警方调查结果，任何被认定有意嘲讽抗议者的员工都将被解雇。
此次活动引发的愤怒催生了公众抵制呼吁，包括行政安全部长尹浩镇在内的政府官员也加大了抵制声量。尹浩镇表示，政府活动将不再使用星巴克产品，并痛斥该连锁品牌“反历史行为”。
一位新世界集团高管告诉路透社，受此次营销争议影响，公司销售额大幅下滑。
李在明总统上周在X平台上表示，该活动展现了“否认韩国社会价值观、基本人权和民主的唯利是图者所犯下的非人道且可耻的行径”。
光州镇压事件发生在1979年底全斗焕将军通过政变夺权数月之后。政府记录显示，光州事件约有200人死亡，但活动人士称实际死亡人数远高于此。全斗焕政府还关押了数万人，声称其正在根除社会弊病。
公众对全斗焕独裁政权的愤怒引发了1987年全国范围的大规模抗议，迫使他接受宪法修订，引入总统直选制度。这一制度被广泛视为韩国向民主转型的开端。
South Korean Starbucks boss apologizes anew for ad campaign that evoked massacre
May 26, 2026 / 5:50 AM EDT / CBS/AP
Seoul, South Korea— South Korean retail tycoon Chung Yong-jin on Tuesday issued his second apology in two weeks as Starbucks’ local operation faced a backlash over a recent marketing campaign that was widely perceived as mocking victims of a bloody military crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in 1980.
Chung, chairman of Shinsegae Group, which owns a 67.5% stake in Starbucks Korea, bowed three times during a televised statement as he pleaded for forgiveness from the families of democracy activists killed by the country’s former military dictatorship and from the broader public.
Shinsegae Group Chairman Chung Yong-jin bows his head during a press conference at the Josun Palace Luxury Collection Hotel in Seoul, South Korea, on May 26, 2026 as he issued a formal public apology regarding a ”Tank Day” marketing promotion by Starbucks Korea Gwangju Democratization Movement. Chris Jung / NurPhoto via Getty Images
The coffee chain sparked public outrage when it attempted to promote a large size of a tumbler it calls a “tank” by declaring May 18 to be “Tank Day.” That’s the anniversary of a democratic uprising in the southern city of Gwangju that was brutally suppressed by troops, tanks and helicopters, killing or injuring hundreds.
The campaign compounded outrage by using the slogan “Thwack it on the table!,”, which many read as a reference to a notorious 1987 police statement that attempted to cover up the torture death of student activist Park Jong-chol. Police claimed that Park died suddenly after investigators “hit the desk with a thwack.”
The promotion was met with immediate outrage and within hours Shinsegae canceled it and fired the chief executive of Starbucks Korea. Police also opened an investigation based on complaints by families of people killed at Gwangju.
“I take … very seriously the fact that many people felt deep pain and anger because of Starbucks Korea’s inappropriate marketing campaign,” Chung said Tuesday.
Shinsegae Group Chairman Chung Yong-jin during a press conference regarding Starbucks Korea’s marketing campaign at the Josun Palace Luxury Collection Hotel in Seoul, South Korea, on May 26, 2026. Chris Jung / NurPhoto via Getty Images
He also asked people not to take out their frustration on staff at Starbucks shops, saying the responsibility lies with management. There were no immediate reports of major incidents at stores.
Chung issued his first apology on May 19, saying in a statement that the campaign caused “deep pain to the victims and bereaved families of the May 18 Democratization Movement as well as to the public.”
Jeon Sangjin, a senior Shinsegae Group executive, said the company has yet to find conclusive evidence that Starbucks Korea marketing employees intended to mock the pro-democracy movement, an accusation the employees have denied.
However, he said some employees refused management requests to hand over their smartphones during a weeklong internal review. Jeon said the company would look at results from the police inquiry and any employee found to have intended to ridicule protesters would be fired.
The anger over the campaign has triggered public calls for boycotts, amplified by government officials, including Interior and Safety Minister Yoon Ho-jung, who said Starbucks products will no longer be used at government events and lamented the chain’s “anti-historical behavior.”
A Shinsegae official told the Reuters news agency sales had fallen dramatically in the wake of the marketing controversy.
President Lee Jae Myung said on X last week that the campaign displayed “inhumane and disgraceful behavior by cheap profiteers who deny the values of the South Korean community, basic human rights and democracy.”
The crackdown in Gwangju came months after General Chun Doo-hwan seized power in a coup in late 1979. Government records show about 200 people died in Gwangju, but activists say the true death toll was much higher. Chun’s government also imprisoned tens of thousands, saying it was rooting out social evils.
Public anger over Chun’s dictatorship led to massive nationwide protests in 1987, forcing him to accept a constitutional revision introducing direct presidential elections that is widely seen as the start of South Korea’s transition to democracy.
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