South Korea Starbucks' nickname service causes political headaches

Seoul: Starbucks stores in South Korea have banned customers from using certain names as their own when they order their coffees specifically, the s...

Seoul: Starbucks stores in South Korea have banned customers from using certain names as their own when they order their coffees - specifically, the six names that will be on the presidential election ballot next week.

StarbucksKorea runs a "Call My Name” service, which allows customers to select a nickname on the app for baristas to shout out when their sea-salt caramel cold brew or sausage pretzel is ready. The option had become a popular outlet for customers to express themselves through puns, jokes and K-pop fandom.

But as the election approaches, some coffee lovers have turned the service into an opportunity to make political statements. These customers’ "nicknames” would also be displayed inside the coffee shop on an electronic board.

One customer used the nickname "Arrest Yoon Suk Yeol,” referring to the president who was removed from office in April after the country’s Constitutional Court unanimously upheld a parliamentary vote to impeach him. When their Starbucks order was ready, the nickname appeared under the word "complete,” and the moment went viral. Other people used explicit names demeaning the former first lady. Some took aim at the main opposition leader, including one who ordered a drink for "Lee Jae-myung is a spy.”

Now, Starbucks is automatically banning the use of the politicians’ names in orders made through its app, a move that is increasingly gaining attention among customers. StarbucksKorea said in a statement that it is seeking to maintain political neutrality in its Call My Name service. Coffee-addicted South Korea is Starbucks’s third-largest market after the United States and China.