#gwangju-uprising

#gwangju-uprising

CEO Son Jung-hyun was fired to hold him accountable for the inappropriate promotional campaign launched on the anniversary of the May 18, 1980, uprising in Gwangju, the coffee chain's South Korean operator said on Tuesday. Shinsegae Group Chairman Chung Yong-jin personally ordered Son's dismissal after a strict and thorough internal investigation, the conglomerate said, describing the top executive as furious over the incident.

The coffee chain launched a Tank Day campaign on 18 May for its Tank tumbler series. The date coincides with one of the most politically sensitive days in South Korea's calendar, when citizens commemorate the 1980 democratisation movement in Gwangju, 167 miles (270km) south-west of Seoul. The online campaign paired the date 5/18 with the slogan Tank Day, evoking the armoured vehicles used by the military regime to crush the uprising.