South Korean Starbucks boss apologises for ad campaign that evoked massacre

Shinsegae Group Chairman Chung Yong-jin on Tuesday apologized to the public in person, eight days after Starbucks Korea, run by Shinsegae Group, sparked controversy with its "Tank Day" marketing event, which critics say inappropriately referenced Korea’s pro-democracy movement of the 1980s.

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.

The group is seeing a drop in sales over the campaign that appeared to reference a deadly crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in 1980.