People Power Party: Democratic Party Using Starbucks Boycott to Divert Anger

South Korea's People Power Party has sharply criticized the Democratic Party's boycott of Starbucks, alleging it's a tactic to distract public anger from a potential special prosecutor investigation into party leader Lee Jae-myung. Jang Dong-hyuk, the People Power Party's leader, stated that the boycott is a "death-stick song" targeting Starbucks, questioning whether the public will choose "death-stick song or Starbucks."

Jang asserted that the Starbucks boycott, scheduled to end on June 3rd, is a calculated move by Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party, and its hardline supporters ('Gae-ttal'). He predicted they would resume drinking Starbucks coffee as if nothing happened after the deadline, suggesting the campaign is timed to influence the upcoming June 3rd local elections.

He drew parallels to past political maneuvers, recalling the ruling party's opposition to THAAD deployment in 2017 and their rhetoric regarding Fukushima's contaminated water in 2023. "President Moon Jae-in supported THAAD deployment within a month of taking office. In 2023, the Democratic Party incited the entire nation with 'Fukushima nuclear wastewater,'" Jang stated, reiterating his accusation that the current Starbucks boycott aims to divert public anger over Lee Jae-myung's trial cancellation special prosecutor.

The party also targeted Democratic Party candidate Kim Yong-nam, running in a by-election for Pyeongtaek-Eul. Jang accused Kim of operating a loan shark business under the guise of an agricultural company, allegedly earning 300-400 million won annually from high-interest loans to ordinary people, citing the existence of recorded conversations as evidence. "This person should be sent to prison, not the National Assembly," Jang declared.

Furthermore, Jang questioned the integrity of the upcoming elections, citing the omission of a campaign poster for People Power Party candidate Kim Tae-heum, the governor of South Chungcheong Province. He expressed skepticism about whether such serious errors are mere mistakes, especially when they consistently affect People Power Party candidates. "Are we to believe that elections will be fair when the media, the National Election Commission, and the police have all become election support groups for the Democratic Party?" he asked, urging citizens to become a "national monitoring group" to prevent election fraud.