Starbucks Blocks Political Names in South Korea

In South Korea, Starbucks has decided to prevent the use of six presidential candidates’ names in drink orders. This step is taken to maintain political neutrality during the upcoming election season. It’s pretty interesting how coffee culture is deeply woven into the political climate here.

The initiative was prompted by a rising trend where customers were using these politicians’ names in their orders. In some cases, this included supportive or opposing phrases, which could create discomfort for others around. For instance, someone might order a drink with a phrase criticizing a certain candidate, leading to potentially awkward situations when baristas call out these names.

Here are the names being blocked from orders:
– Lee Jae-myeong, leader of the liberal opposition
– Kim Moon Seo from the conservative power party
– Lea Jun-Seok, leader of the Reform Party
– Kwon Young-Kook
– Hwang Kyo-Ahn
– Song Jin Ho

Lee Jae-myung is currently leading in the polls, with Kim closing in, especially if he can convince Lea Jun-Seok to step aside for his campaign. The presidential election is scheduled for June 3, following President Yoon Seok-yeol’s resignation earlier this month after a failed attempt to impose martial law.

This move to block political names reflects a wider trend among businesses and public figures to stay neutral in a highly polarized environment. For example, Naver, which is South Korea’s leading search engine, is also implementing measures to avoid bias by adjusting autocomplete suggestions related to political candidates.

In a statement, Starbucks emphasized, “Our goal is to ensure all our customers have a great experience at our coffee house. To facilitate this, we may block certain phrases—like those of political candidates—to avoid misunderstandings among employees and customers during the election season.”