Paejae High School Students Seek to Apologize in Person, But Gwangju Jeil High School Says "Not Ready to Accept"

Student athletes from the Paejae High School baseball team, who sparked controversy with their "Starbucks cheering slogans," expressed their intention to visit Gwangju Jeil High School in person to apologize, but the meeting was canceled due to opposition from Gwangju Jeil High School.

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education stated that while faculty, baseball team members, and parents from Paejae High School expressed their wish to visit Gwangju Jeil High School to offer an apology, Gwangju Jeil High School requested they reconsider, stating that "the students are not yet mentally prepared to accept an apology," leading to an agreement to reschedule the visit for a later date.

The controversy began on June 29 during a match against Gwangju Jeil High School at the Blue Dragon National High School Baseball Championship, when some Paejae High School players shouted slogans such as "Let's go to Starbucks" and "Tank Day" toward the opposing dugout.

This incident caused a significant stir as it was reminiscent of a recent controversy where Starbucks Korea faced public backlash for using phrases like "5·18 Tank Day" in promotional materials around the anniversary of the May 18 Democratization Movement.

As May 18 advocacy groups and teachers' organizations issued statements of criticism and called for countermeasures, the matter has been referred to the Sports Fair Committee of the Korea Baseball Softball Association following a formal protest from Gwangju Jeil High School.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.