"Coffee is Best at Local Cafes"…Will Passport-Issued Starbucks Boycott Ignite?

Supporter of Yeo: "I Cut My Starbucks Card"

Photo by Jeong Yong-jin, Vice Chairman of Shinsegae Group, Instagram screen capture.

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] Recently, amid the controversy over 'Myeolgong' (滅共, meaning "eradicate communism"), a 'Starbucks boycott' movement is spreading mainly among the ruling party. Some ruling party supporters are also participating in the boycott by cutting their Starbucks cards and posting proof on online communities.

Kim Yong-min, a Supreme Council member of the Democratic Party of Korea, posted on his Facebook on the 11th, saying, "Local coffee shops have the best coffee," along with a photo of himself holding coffee in front of a cafe. He indirectly expressed his intention to stop using Starbucks by adding the hashtag 'farewell.'

Nam Young-hee, spokesperson for the party's election campaign committee, also posted a photo taken at a local cafe on Facebook, saying, "Local coffee shops have the best coffee. Following Supreme Council member Kim Yong-min." She left the hashtag 'Adieu Byeoldabang.' 'Byeoldabang' is a nickname for Starbucks.

Earlier, Jin Sung-jun, a Democratic Party lawmaker, also expressed his intention to join the Starbucks boycott on the 10th. He shared a post by Professor Kim Ho-gi of Yonsei University's Sociology Department, who serves as a special advisor to the Prime Minister on social affairs, on his Facebook, saying, "I also plan not to go to Shinsegae Department Store, E-Mart, or Starbucks."

In the post, Professor Kim wrote, "I plan not to go to Shinsegae Department Store, Starbucks, or E-Mart for the time being," adding, "If the weapon of the weak, as anthropologist James Scott said, is sabotage, I want to exercise that right as a consumer. What I disagree with is the outdated and obsolete ideological colorism."

Kim Yong-min, member of the Democratic Party of Korea (left), and Chung Jin-seok, Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly from the People Power Party. Photo by Facebook screen capture

Given the situation, the Starbucks boycott is spreading even among ruling party supporters. On a domestic online community, a post titled 'I cut my Starbucks card' was uploaded that day.

The author, Mr. A, posted a photo of his cut Starbucks card and said, "I spend about 500,000 to 600,000 won on coffee per month at most. I personally like coffee and often have meetings at Starbucks for work."

He continued, "Freedom of expression must be respected. But to bring in a failed communism and call for Myeolgong is frustrating," adding, "I am joining the Starbucks boycott. It is frustrating that people who did not even sing the 'Torch of Myeolgong' while running in the freezing winter training ground are now shouting 'Myeolgong.'"

On the other hand, opposition party figures are supporting Shinsegae Group affiliates by posting photos with Starbucks tumblers. Jeong Jin-seok, a five-term senior member of the People Power Party and Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, posted a photo holding a Starbucks tumbler on his Facebook without any additional explanation. When a netizen asked, "Did you have your morning coffee?" he replied, "Yes ☆ I drank coffee."

The Myeolgong controversy began when Jeong Yong-jin, Vice Chairman of Shinsegae Group, posted several Instagram posts with the hashtag 'Myeolgong.' In response to criticism from the ruling party, many online communities shared posters with the phrase "Boycott Jeong Yong-jin, do not go, do not buy," raising their voices in criticism.

As the controversy grew, Vice Chairman Jeong stated on Instagram, "If the sensitivity to calculate that my everyday language can be used politically, and the sense to quickly know where to tie my gat string, are qualities of a businessman, I will cultivate them." This appears to mean he will refrain from making statements that could be politically interpreted in the future.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.