While criticism continues regarding Starbucks’ ‘Tank Day’ event, past captions used in ‘Real Men’ are being brought back to light.
Starbucks Korea sparked controversy by naming a tumbler discount event ‘Tank Day’ and using promotional phrases like “Tak on the desk” on May 18, the 46th anniversary of the Gwangju Democratization Movement. In the midst of this, scenes from past prime-time variety shows are being re-examined online.
A scene from MBC’s ‘Real Men’, aired in 2013, is drawing particular attention. During a segment where cast members struggled to build a bridge over a river, the production team used the caption, “At the limit? Expressions that look like they’ll go ‘eok’ and collapse if hit ‘tak’.”
A scene from SBS’s ‘Running Man’ aired in June 2019 is also under fire. The show used the caption “Picked number 1 ‘tak’, then ‘eok’ choked” during a moment when a cast member choked, which has now resurfaced.
Netizens are criticizing these captions, questioning if they trivialized the phrase “He died with an ‘eok’ after the desk was hit ‘tak’,” a notorious statement from the torture-death case of activist Park Jong-chol that caused immense public outrage at the time.
Meanwhile, Starbucks Korea ended the promotion early and posted an apology as the controversy spread. Shinsegae Group Chairman Chung Yong-jin held a press conference on the morning of the 26th to issue a public apology.
He stated, “I will make no excuses,” adding, “All responsibility for this matter lies with me. I ask for your forgiveness.” He further bowed his head, saying, “I will fundamentally re-examine our internal systems and risk management framework and further raise the standards for social responsibility.”
