Seoul (AFP) - Starbucks Korea revealed on Tuesday a series of mishaps leading to its heavily criticised “Tank Day” promotion, including the use of AI to develop the campaign, which it said lacked “social and historical sensitivity”.

The company has faced outrage in South Korea for promoting a line of coffee cups with a campaign that evoked a deadly crackdown on a 1980 pro-democracy uprising.

The furor led to a “sharp decline in sales”, and the dismissal of Son Jung-hyun, head of Starbucks Korea, according to the Shinsaege Group – which operates the coffee chain in South Korea under a licensing agreement.

In a packed news conference in Seoul on Tuesday, Shinsegae executive Jeon Sang-jin said “priority was given to the speed and immediacy” of the campaign and “not a single objection was raised during either the planning or approval stages”.

The campaign for “tank tumbler” cups was branded as “Tank Day” and launched on May 18, the anniversary of the Gwangju uprising.

Official figures record the crackdown on the revolt killed 165 civilians, with 65 listed as missing and 376 others later dying of injuries. Many believe the true toll was higher.

The Gwangju uprising forms the haunting backdrop to Nobel laureate Han Kang’s novel Human Acts.

The employees involved said they had “asked AI for suggestions and that the May 18 anniversary had never even crossed their minds”, he said of the findings from the internal probe.

It was unclear whether the team went ahead with the AI suggestions.

Jeon said those involved “denied any intentional wrongdoing, saying they only realised the campaign could be problematic after the issue drew public backlash”.

The investigation also found that some of the seven officials who approved the campaign “had signed off on it, as a matter of routine, without even opening the attached design file contained in the email”, Jeon said.

He added that “the legal team’s review process, which had been conducted in the past, was also skipped”.

“This incident went beyond the question of whether individual employees were at fault and exposed a lack of social and historical sensitivity within Starbucks Korea,” he said.

- ‘No excuses’ -

The internal investigation did not determine whether employees had intentionally planned to make light of the uprising.

Three of the five marketing team members also refused to hand over their mobile devices for forensic investigation, citing privacy concerns.

Police have launched a separate investigation which could see anyone found intentionally mocking the uprising dismissed from the company and legal action pursued against them, Jeon said.

Shinsegae chairman Chung Yong-jin bowed in apology over the incident during the Tuesday news briefing and asked for forgiveness from bereaved families of the victims of the May 18 Democratic Uprising.

“I will make no excuses. I take full responsibility for this matter.”

He did not take questions from the media.

- Broken mugs -

Protests over the “Tank Promotion” have sparked a broader backlash from government bodies and public figures, including President Lee Jae Myung.

“I am outraged by this inhumane and disgraceful conduct, a profiteering stunt that denies the values of the South Korean community,” Lee wrote on X last week.

The defence ministry said it had suspended a partnership project with Starbucks that had provided beverages to soldiers.

The controversy has also spread to the entertainment industry, with some celebrities facing criticism for being seen holding Starbucks coffee.

Others have posted videos and photos on social media of themselves breaking Starbucks mugs.