Starbucks furore in South Korea hijacks election finale with fight over hate speech
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A customer is seen in a Starbucks coffee shop in Seoul on May 19.
PHOTO: AFP
SEOUL - Furore over a recent Starbucks marketing campaign in South Korea has become an unlikely proxy for the country’s political divide, with a poll released on May 25 suggesting it is now shaping shifts in support for the rival parties mere days before local elections.
The backlash over promotions criticised as trivialising the May 18 Gwangju Democratic Uprising has widened into a larger fight over how far the state should go about reining in hateful expression – including whether far-right online communities such as Ilbe should face penalties or even closure.
President Lee Jae Myung has taken the lead in that debate, framing the Starbucks controversy as part of a broader culture of ridicule that targets victims of national tragedies and democratic movements.
On May 23, Mr Lee again lashed out at Starbucks Korea over its release of a Siren Classic Mug on April 16, 2024 – the 10th anniversary of the Sewol ferry disaster – denouncing it as “beastly conduct” and “an immoral act by vicious profiteers”.
He shared a post by Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Chung Chin-ook, who argued that Starbucks had used the word “siren” – referring in mythology to creatures whose songs lure sailors to shipwrecks – in connection with an event held on the anniversary of the Sewol disaster.
Starbucks Korea rejected the criticism, saying the Starbucks siren is part of the company’s global brand identity and had no connection to the tragedy.
In response, conservatives sought to turn the backlash into a rallying cry against the Starbucks boycott campaign spearheaded by the ruling bloc.
People Power Party Chair Jang Dong-hyeok on May 25 urged supporters to bring Starbucks coffee to polling stations as a show of defiance, framing the June 3 elections as a “people’s tribunal for local elections”.
“This Friday, let the people clearly show the will of free citizens by saying, ‘I choose my own coffee,’” Mr Jang said ahead of early voting scheduled for May 29 and 30.
Starbucks fallout hits polls
The issue is already showing signs of shaping support for the rival parties ahead of the June 3 elections, according to a Realmeter poll of 1,004 eligible voters conducted from May 21 to 22.
Realmeter said on May 25 that the ruling Democratic Party’s approval rating climbed 1.7 percentage points to 47.5 per cent from the previous week; the main opposition People Power Party edged up 0.2 percentage point to 33.2 per cent.
By contrast, Realmeter said the People Power Party’s decline in support appeared to be driven by the “negative impact of derogatory and mocking remarks about May 18 by some figures, as well as controversy over floor leader Song Eon-seog’s remarks on Gwangju, amid the May 18 ‘Tank Day’ (Starbucks) controversy”.
The pollster said that “although the launch of local election campaigning had helped consolidate conservative voters, the decline in support in the Honam region weighed more heavily, resulting in a slight overall downward trend”.
In Gwangju and South Jeolla Province, support for the Democratic Party rose 11.2 percentage points from the previous week to 68.4 per cent, while support for the People Power Party fell 9.8 percentage points to 10.9 per cent.
Lee floats shutting down ‘Ilbe’ online community
President Lee escalated the debate by publicly floating the need for stronger action against Ilbe, short for Ilgan Best Storage. In a post on X on May 24, Mr Lee raised the possibility of punitive damages, fines and even the shutdown of websites accused of encouraging hatred and humiliation.
“It appears necessary to have public discussion and actual review on allowing necessary measures such as the closure of websites that neglect or encourage ridicule and hatred, like Ilgan Best Storage, as well as punitive damages and fines,” Mr Lee wrote. “I will also give instructions on the matter at the Cabinet meeting.”
Mr Lee made the remarks while sharing a news report alleging that visitors believed to be Ilbe users mocked the late President Roh Moo-hyun during events marking the 17th anniversary of his death on May 23, taking photos in clothing associated with Ilbe while making hand gestures linked to the online community.
In response, Ms Lee Ju-hee, the Democratic Party’s floor spokeswoman, said on May 24, “legislation regulating hate expression, which was repeatedly scrapped at the National Assembly in the past, is now a task our society must seriously confront”.
“However, it would need to be carefully calibrated during the legislative process to ensure that it does not devolve into political censorship or stifle legitimate criticism and satire,” she said.
Mr Jang Dong-hyeok on May 24 rejected calls to shut down Ilbe, accusing the ruling bloc of applying double standards by targeting right-wing websites while allowing “freedom of expression enjoyed only by pro-North Korea websites”. THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK