Seoul: Starbucks Korea has suffered a "very significant" drop in sales after a marketing campaign that evoked a brutal 1980 military crackdown on pro-democracy protesters triggered a public outcry, an official from the operator Shinsegae Group said on Tuesday.
The retailer, whose subsidiary E-Mart owns the coffee chain in South Korea, has faced mounting criticism over its 'Tank Day' tumbler marketing campaign launched on the anniversary of the May 18 Gwangju Uprising, when the military government deployed troops and tanks to suppress pro-democracy demonstrations.
