South Korea Starbucks 'Tank Day' controversy; refunds for stored value cards to open in June

Following the controversy over Starbucks Korea using the term 'Tank Day' to promote a series of tank tumblers on the 46th anniversary of the Gwangju Uprising on the 18th, Chung Yong-jin, chairman of the parent company Shinsegae Group, appeared today to apologize. Starbucks also announced that from June 1st to 14th, it will allow customers to request refunds for their stored value card balances regardless of the usage ratio. According to reports by Yonhap News Agency, under the original Starbucks card terms, consumers had to use more than 60% of the final stored amount to be eligible for a refund of the remaining balance (40% or less). However, following the marketing controversy, the number of consumers requesting refunds for their prepaid cards increased, leading the company to decide to apply an exception. The report indicates that any customer holding a Starbucks card can apply for a refund through the Starbucks mobile app between June 1st and 14th. After the application, the refund will be transferred to the designated account within 7 working days, with a maximum refund of 2 million Korean won (approximately 44,000 NTD) per account. A Starbucks official stated, 'We feel a heavy sense of responsibility and remorse, and we hope to minimize the inconvenience to customers who have recently requested refunds, so we have decided to relax the refund criteria.'