"Purchase" vs "Boycott"... Impeachment Rally's "Prepayment Aftershock" Hits Distribution Industry

IU Prepaid Bread and More for Impeachment Rally Participants
Opposition Forces List Activity Ads on Brand SNS
Yoon Sang-hyun's In-Laws' Purmil Also Targeted in Boycott Campaign

The impeachment crisis against President Yoon Seok-yeol, stemming from the '12·3 Emergency Martial Law Incident,' has spilled over into the distribution industry. Ahead of the impeachment vote on President Yoon, the pro- and anti-impeachment factions clashed over the 'prepayment actions' for participants in the impeachment rallies, causing collateral damage to distribution companies.

According to the distribution industry on the 17th, posts encouraging boycott campaigns were shared via social networking services (SNS) listing brands and product names for which singer IU is an advertising model. The posts included brands where IU is active as a model such as 'Domino's Pizza,' 'Woori Bank,' 'Jeju Samdasoo,' 'Hite Jinro,' 'New Balance,' and 'CNP Chae & Park Cosmetics.'

This is essentially a retaliatory measure against IU's prepayment on the 14th, when the impeachment rally was held, at a total of five stores around Yeouido, Seoul, allowing rally participants to eat bread and gukbap (soup with rice). In response, the pro-impeachment faction is sharing such boycott lists and counter-proposing a "purchase campaign for the wonderful IU."

However, some brands were mistakenly included in the boycott list. In the case of Domino's Pizza, IU was an advertising model until April this year, but in May, she was replaced by Son Heung-min, captain of the South Korean national soccer team. A Domino's Pizza official said, "There is no significant impact on sales immediately, but we need to monitor the situation going forward."

Dairy company Purmil was hit directly by this impeachment crisis. As the family-in-law of Yoon Sang-hyun, a People Power Party lawmaker who strongly opposed President Yoon's impeachment, is known to be connected to Purmil, voices calling for a boycott of Purmil products have emerged among the pro-impeachment faction. It is reported that Yoon, known as the son-in-law of former President Chun Doo-hwan, remarried in 2010 to Shin Kyung-ah, daughter of Shin Junho, chairman of Purmil.

Currently, various communities continue to post messages such as "Purmil is Yoon Sang-hyun's family-in-law. We must join the boycott," "We must punish Yoon Sang-hyun who actively supported the rebellion," and "I don't want to put money into the pockets of those who sympathized with illegal martial law." On SNS, photos of Purmil products edited with Yoon's face are being shared, along with posts summarizing the relationship between Yoon and Purmil and calling for a boycott.

Paris Baguette, a bakery franchise brand operated by SPC Group, became embroiled in a controversy over discrimination against prepayment customers. A man in his 50s prepaid 5 million won at a Paris Baguette store located in Yeouido for participants in a rally calling for President Yoon's impeachment, allowing anyone who said the name 'Kim Min-ju' to receive a free drink. However, posts surfaced claiming that drinks ordered under the code name Kim Min-ju were limited to coffee or that prepaid customers were served drinks first, causing difficulties from impeachment supporters.

In response, some communities have posted rebuttals to the allegations of discrimination against prepayment customers. A store official explained, "At the store, drinks were served in order regardless of whether the customer prepaid or paid directly," adding, "There was no restriction on drinks; some products were substituted because ingredients ran out."

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