[Suwan News = Reporter Kim Dong-ju] Delivery drivers have declared a boycott and refused to make deliveries for Shinsegae Starbucks, which sparked controversy with its “Tank Day” event on the anniversary of the May 18 Democratization Movement.
The Delivery Platform Workers’ Union of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) Service Federation issued a statement on the 21st, declaring, “This is not a simple marketing mistake. We are immediately launching a boycott of Starbucks and refusing to deliver to its stores.”
The union argued that Starbucks has reduced the memory of that day in 1980 in Gwangju—when martial law troops, backed by armored vehicles and tanks, massacred the citizens of Gwangju— pointing out that this is the result of either ignorance of history or a deliberate disregard for it, and emphasized that neither attitude is acceptable. Furthermore, the Delivery Platform Workers’ Union noted that its members traverse the alleys of this country every day; among the union’s delivery workers are those from Gwangju, and some whose parents belong to the same generation as the “May Mothers.” They added that if the cup of coffee we deliver every day is tainted with a desecration of history, refusing to make that delivery is both a “right” as workers and the minimum “duty” as citizens.
Previously, on the 18th, Starbucks used the phrases “Tank Day” and “Tap on the Desk” during a tumbler promotion event. This led to a series of setbacks, including a public apology by Chairman Jung Yong-jin, the dismissal of the CEO of Starbucks Korea, and the suspension of sales of the related products.
Kim Dong-ju, Reporter
