FTC chief says no probe planned for Starbucks amid marketing controversy

Ju Biung-ghi, chairman of the Fair Trade Commission, speaks during a press conference held at Sejong, Tuesday. Yonhap

Korea's antitrust watchdog has no grounds to investigate Starbucks Korea over the coffee chain's controversial marketing campaign allegedly mocking the 1980s democracy movement, though it would be a "serious" issue if done intentionally, its chief said.

Ju Biung-ghi, chairman of the Fair Trade Commission (FTC), made the remark during a press conference held in the central city of Sejong on Tuesday in response to questions about the watchdog's potential action against the Korean unit of the global coffee chain.

"(Starbucks Korea) claims to have used the word 'tank' in a neutral way, but if it is revealed that the company had other intentions, it should apologize to the public and customers," Ju said.

"If the phrase used in the marketing campaign was intended to deceive customers, that would be a serious issue," he added.

The FTC chairman, however, said Starbucks Korea has not currently violated local fair trade rules, noting the agency has no grounds to pursue regulatory action against the company.

"Mocking the tragic incident during the country's move toward democracy is an issue of public trust, rather than one under the FTC's jurisdiction," he added.

Starbucks Korea launched a tumbler promotion on May 18 featuring phrases such as "Tank Day" and "Tak on the desk!" but scrapped it within hours.

Critics said "Tank Day" evoked the military crackdown on the 1980 Gwangju pro-democracy uprising, while "Tak on the desk!" recalled an infamous police explanation for the 1987 torture death of student activist Park Jong-cheol, in which police claimed he died after a desk was struck with a "tak" sound.

On May 18, 1980, citizens rose up against a military junta led by then Army Gen. Chun Doo-hwan in the southwestern city of Gwangju. Chun sent troops to brutally suppress civilians before ultimately seizing power by force.

Ju said his agency will also look into Starbucks Korea's policy allowing customers to receive refunds on prepaid cards only after they have used more than 60 percent of the balance, which is based on FTC guidelines.

"If we lower (the 60 percent standard) excessively, it could be abused for illegal cash conversion schemes," he said. "This may have an adverse impact on domestic consumption."

Looking back to the previous one year under the Lee Jae Myung administration, the FTC said it has made proactive efforts to root out unfair activities, slapping more than 2 trillion won ($1.32 billion) worth of fines since June 2025.

From June 2025 to April 2026, the FTC said it handled 1,982 cases, up 4.9 percent from the same period a year earlier, while shortening the average processing period by 10 percent to 165 days.

Ju noted the FTC plans to launch a new special probe unit dedicated to investigating major violations of fair trade laws by platform operators and conglomerates.

"The demand for the FTC's law enforcement is growing as the number of complex and multifaceted issues, especially those involving platform operators, continues to rise," he added.

"The new unit will become an agile organization that unravels complex cases in a multidimensional and comprehensive manner," Ju said.

The watchdog also plans to expand the current division-level economic analysis team into a bureau as part of a broader effort to bolster its expertise in responding to new types of antitrust issues that require advanced economic analysis and data science capabilities.