New Delhi, May 19 -- Starbucks Korea's chief executive has been dismissed following backlash over the launch of a line of reusable drinkware, the company said Tuesday.

The furore centred on the company's use of the words "Tank Day" to promote a series of coffee cups known as "Tank tumblers", which were launched on May 18 -- the anniversary of a deadly 1980 pro-democracy uprising.

Son Jung-hyun, head of Starbucks Korea, has been dismissed over the controversy, a company representative confirmed to AFP on Tuesday.

The "Tank Day" wording drew widespread criticism as it evoked the military vehicles used to crush protesters during the 1980 Gwangju uprising, which marked its 46th anniversary.

The protests, a defining moment in South Korea's...