Fashion retailer Musinsa has issued a renewed apology for its highly controversial 2019 marketing campaign that was criticized for mocking South Korea’s pivotal democratization movement. This fresh apology comes after President Lee Jae Myung publicly condemned the advertisement, amidst ongoing public outrage stemming from Starbucks Korea’s recent “Tank Day” controversy.
In an official statement, Musinsa acknowledged it had been “watching the recent controversy surrounding another company’s historical mockery issue with a heavy heart.” The company then conceded that its own “major mistake from seven years ago” had unfortunately resurfaced into public discourse, prompting the need for further redress.
The focus of Musinsa’s apology is a 2019 social media advertisement. This campaign infamously used phrasing that drew parallels to the traumatic 1987 torture of student activist Park Jong-chul. Park Jong-chul’s tragic death was a profound catalyst, ultimately sparking Korea’s historic June Democratic Uprising.
“Musinsa committed a grave mistake that should never have happened by using phrases associated with the martyrdom of Park Jong-chul in marketing content,” the company stated directly. “We damaged the values of democracy and the profound meaning of those who bravely sacrificed themselves for democratization.”
Earlier on the same day, President Lee Jae Myung took to social media to criticize both Starbucks Korea’s recent problematic campaign and Musinsa’s 2019 advertisement. He explicitly labeled both incidents as disturbing examples of companies mocking Korea’s deeply significant democracy movement.
The specific Musinsa advertisement in question featured slipper socks paired with the unsettling phrase, “I hit the desk, and it dried instantly.” This directly echoed the notorious police explanation provided after Park Jong-chul’s death in 1987, which chillingly claimed: “We hit the desk, and he gasped, then died.”
It’s important to note that Musinsa had previously issued an apology and faced widespread boycott calls when this specific advertisement initially garnered public attention in 2019, highlighting a persistent sensitivity surrounding historical events.
