Seoul, May 19 -- Starbucks sacked its Korea CEO after a marketing campaign backfired, calling for a boycott of the coffee chain as it evoked painful memories of a brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protestors by the military dictatorship in 1980.

The retail conglomerate Shinsegae Group, which licenses and manages Starbucks in South Korea, said it had sacked Sohn Jeong-hyun, the head of Starbucks Korea. The company cited "inappropriate marketing" as the reason for taking the decision.

The 'Tank Day' campaign was launched on Monday for promotion of its 'Tank' line of tumblers with the tag line "put it on the table with a sound of 'Tak!'"

Monday also happened to be the day when South Korea marks the anniversary of a bloody crackdown on pro...