u/IngenuityGlittering

[ Removed by Reddit on account of violating the content policy. ]

TL;DR

​In the late 1980s, a 40-something housewife struggling with cabaret gambling debts poisoned five people, including her creditors and her own family members, using potassium cyanide.

​Her chilling MO: She handed them poisoned drinks in public places like city buses and bathhouses. When they collapsed, she pretended not to know them, stopped others from helping, and stole their valuables.

​She was eventually caught when cyanide was found hidden inside a wooden pillar in her bathroom. She became the last female death row inmate to be executed in South Korea on December 30, 1997.

​When we think of a "serial killer," we often imagine gruesome crimes in dark alleys or isolated places. But one of the most shocking serial murder cases in South Korean history took place in broad daylight, on city buses and in public bathhouses, at the hands of a very ordinary-looking housewife in her late 40s.

​Cabaret Gambling Debts and the First Murder

Kim Sun-ja was an ordinary mother of three sons, married to a painter. However, she fell deep into a gambling addiction, frequenting cabarets and amassing millions of won in debt (a significant amount in the 1980s, considering an apartment in Seoul cost around 10 to 20 million won). Suffocating under the pressure of her debts, she hatched an unfathomable plan: instead of paying back her creditors, she would kill them and steal their money.

​In October 1986, she lured a member of her social club to a public bathhouse and handed her a health drink laced with potassium cyanide. When the victim collapsed in severe convulsions, Kim stopped bystanders from helping, lying that her friend "suffers from epilepsy." After the victim died, Kim stole her diamond ring and necklace. Because the victim had a history of high blood pressure, the death was ruled a heart attack without an autopsy, kicking off Kim's deadly game.

​The Devil's Smile Targeting Her Own Family

Her methods grew increasingly audacious. On a city bus, she offered a poisoned cup of adlay tea to a creditor who had lent her 7 million won. When the victim collapsed in agony, Kim coldly stated, "We are not together," and got off the bus alone after stealing the victim's cash and jewelry.

​The most horrifying incidents were her fourth and fifth victims:

​March 1988: On an intercity bus, knowing her own father was carrying a bag full of cash, she handed him a poisoned health drink.

​April 1988: On a city bus returning from a children's park, she gave a poisoned drink to her own younger sister.

​Even as her flesh and blood were dying right in front of her, she pretended to be a complete stranger, stealing their cash and handbags before fleeing the scene.

​Caught: The Truth in the Graves and a Wooden Pillar

Finally, when her last victim (a distant sister-in-law) died in a cafe under similar circumstances, the bereaved family reported their suspicions to the police. They pointed out that five people close to Kim Sun-ja had suddenly died of "heart attacks" in a short period, and large sums of money had gone missing every single time.

​Taking an extreme measure, the police obtained a search warrant and exhumed the bodies of four victims from their graves for autopsies. The result? Lethal doses of potassium cyanide were found in all of them.

​The definitive smoking gun was discovered during a search of Kim's home. Police found a small lump of cyanide wrapped tightly in newspaper, hidden inside a crack in a wooden pillar of her traditional outhouse.

​Final Thoughts

From the moment of her arrest until her final breath on the gallows in December 1997, Kim maintained her innocence, constantly shouting, "I am falsely accused. I never killed anyone!"

​This is a chilling case where someone weaponized the trust of her closest friends and family with a simple drink. How far can blind greed and money destroy a person's humanity? What are your thoughts on this extreme case of criminal psychology?

TL;DR: Starbucks Korea ran a "Tank Day" tumbler promotion on the memorial day of a tragic 1980 democratic uprising (where military tanks were used to crush civilians).

They also used a slogan referencing a notorious 1987 police torture cover-up.

The backlash was nuclear, the South Korean President publicly condemned them, and the Shinsegae Group Chairman fired the Starbucks Korea CEO on the exact same day.

​

The Background (Context for Non-Koreans)

To understand how bad this is, you need to know about May 18th (5.18). On May 18, 1980, the military dictatorship in South Korea sent paratroopers and tanks into the city of Gwangju to violently crush a pro-democracy movement. Hundreds of civilians were killed.

It is one of the most solemn and politically sensitive memorial days in the country.

​The Incident

On May 18, 2026, Starbucks Korea (which is locally operated by the retail giant Shinsegae/Emart) launched a promotion for their new "Tank" tumbler series.

They proudly displayed the date "5/18" right next to the slogan "Tank Day".

If that wasn't enough, they added another slogan: "Thwack on the desk!"

This is a highly offensive reference to a notorious 1987 incident where the police tortured a student activist to death and tried to cover it up by claiming they just "slapped the desk with a thwack, and he died of a heart attack."

​The Fallout

The internet exploded. People couldn't believe a massive global brand could have zero internal screening to prevent combining two of the darkest moments in Korean modern history into a tumbler ad.

​Living right here in Gwangju, I can tell you the mood is absolutely furious.

The Gwangju Mayor instantly banned the use of Starbucks gift cards at any city-hosted events.

Furthermore, President Lee Jae Myung took to Twitter (X) to condemn Starbucks, calling it "inhumane, bottom-feeding behavior" that mocked the blood-soaked struggle of democracy activists.

​The Corporate Panic & Current Drama

As someone who actively tracks the stock market, watching this unfold was a textbook example of a catastrophic ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) nightmare.

Shinsegae Group's Chairman, Chung Yong-jin, went into pure panic mode.

Fearing a massive nationwide boycott and a crash in Emart's stock, he fired the Starbucks Korea CEO (Son Jung-hyun) effectively immediately.

​Now, the situation has turned into a bizarre political battlefield.

Far-right trolls are visiting Starbucks stores en masse to "own the libs" and are generating AI images of the 1980 military dictator drinking out of the controversial Tank Tumbler.

​Corporate PR disasters don't get much worse than this.

Has there ever been a marketing blunder in your country that got a CEO fired on the very same day?