InterviewStarbucks union leader says 'Tank Day' fiasco deepened strain on workers

A Starbucks worker cleans inside an empty store in Seoul, June 22, in the wake of the “Tank Day” controversy that triggered a boycott campaign of the coffeehouse chain. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

The leader of Starbucks Korea’s newly formed union says the company’s recent “Tank Day” marketing failure not only damaged the brand but also intensified pressure and uncertainty for workers already struggling with heavy workloads and unstable schedules.

Lee Yong-bin

Lee Yong-bin, head of the Starbucks branch of the Korean Chemical, Textile & Food Workers’ Union under the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, said the union’s creation emerged out of frustration with years of one-way communication — a dynamic he thinks helped pave the way for the marketing fiasco.

“I heard that after the ‘Tank Day’ marketing, frontline partners had to deal with customer complaints and other issues that they would not have had to respond to if there had been no controversy,” Lee said in a recent interview with The Korea Times.

“The impact of the boycott differs by store, but in locations where customer numbers have dropped sharply, the overtime work some workers used to do as a routine part of their job has disappeared, and their monthly pay has declined as a result.”

His comments came after Starbucks Korea’s “Tank Day” promotion sparked a wave of public anger and boycotts. On May 18, the anniversary of the 1980 Gwangju Uprising, the firm ran a campaign for a tumbler line using imagery and wording that critics said trivialized historic trauma and evoked memories of state violence. The backlash led to a sharp reputational hit for the brand and the dismissal of its chief executive, Sohn Jeong-hyun.

Lee added that the episode highlights a broader problem in the way Starbucks designs and rolls out promotion campaigns.

“When promotions or events are being planned, there needs to be careful consideration of the frontline employees who face customers directly. The company should make sure that responsibility for the risks does not fall on workers who have no decision-making authority,” he said. “Even aside from social controversy, many such promotional events significantly increase partners’ workload in themselves, so improving this aspect is also necessary.”

The “Tank Day” incident also reinforced a sense among workers that existing communication channels inside the company, such as labor-management consultative group Happiness Council, are inadequate.

“It does not have the power to produce real changes, so many partners no longer have high expectations of it,” Lee said. He noted that when managers raised concerns about understaffing, responses often focused on explaining why difficult conditions were inevitable, rather than on setting out concrete plans to improve them.

“From the standpoint of workers, the only way to demand our rights from the company and negotiate on a more equal footing is to have a labor union. That is why we decided to form one,” he added.

In its founding declaration, the union highlights problems perceived by many of the workers, such as shrinking staffing levels and rising labor intensity.

“Because there aren’t enough people, it has become harder to create genuine connections with customers, which used to be central to Starbucks’ identity,” Lee said. “Many partners want to revive that value and feel proud of their work again.”

The union is also drawing attention to physical strains that are often invisible to customers. Partners regularly handle milk boxes, large containers of liquids and heavy metal equipment under tight time pressure, he noted.

“Many frontline partners are already suffering from musculoskeletal problems in their wrists and lower backs,” Lee said. “We plan to push for changes so that partners can work in an environment where they do not get sick, and where they can stay safe and healthy.”

Starbucks Korea’s unionization comes as efforts gather pace at the company’s stores abroad, particularly in the United States, which started in New York in 2021.

“Starbucks Workers United in the United States has already heard about the establishment of our union and sent us a message of solidarity,” he said. “Since we all formed unions to defend workers’ basic rights and create better working conditions, I think it would be good if we can build a strong relationship with them.”