South Korean Starbucks outlets have banned customers from using the names of the country's presidential candidates — or the disgraced ex-president — for their orders.
Voters will head to the polls on June 3 following the impeachment of former president Yoon Suk Yeol for briefly declaring martial law in December.
Starbucks in South Korea runs a "Call My Name" service, which allows customers to select a nickname which they input via the Starbucks app for baristas to announce when orders are complete.
Customers will not be able to use the names of all seven presidential candidates, including frontrunner Lee Jae-myung from the opposition Democratic Party, and main conservative rival Kim Moon-soo, until after the vote, the company said.
The feature is a "unique Starbucks service designed to build a sense of connection between store staff and customers", the company said in a statement.
"We do not take any religious or political stance, and we actively monitor and restrict the use of negative language, profanity, sexually explicit content, or any expressions that may be difficult or inappropriate for our staff to call out."
The company is also banning customers from using the name of Mr Yoon, who was stripped of office and is facing an ongoing criminal trial on insurrection grounds.
Starbucks said it had taken the action based on past experience of customers misusing the Call My Name feature during previous elections.
The BBC reported customers had been entering phrases for their drink orders such as "arrest Yoon Suk Yeol" or "Lee Jae-myung is a spy" as their nicknames.
There are more than 2,000 Starbucks outlets in South Korea.
Only the United States and China are home to more Starbucks venues, according to Korean news agency Yonhap.
'More accurate and fairer information'
South Korea's upcoming election comes as experts flag growing concerns over increasing political polarisation and division.
Naver, which is the country's most popular search engine, said it would closely monitor comments and notify news outlets of suspicious activity.
"We decided to run these services to provide more accurate and fairer information during the election campaign," the company said, as quoted by the Korea Times.
Mr Yoon's declaration of martial law — which he claimed was necessary to break legislative gridlock and "root out" pro-North Korea "anti-state" forces — garnered support from extreme religious figures and right-wing YouTubers.
Pro-Yoon rallies turned violent in January when extremist supporters angered by the court's approval of his formal arrest warrant stormed a Seoul courthouse.
Two of them were handed jail terms this month.
Mr Yoon's conservative People Power Party has not yet expelled him, and its official candidate, Kim Moon-soo, has drawn public attention as the only cabinet member who refused to bow in apology for failing to prevent Mr Yoon's attempted suspension of civilian rule.
The Democratic Party's Lee is currently facing multiple criminal trials, and since no South Korean president has ever taken office while under indictment, this has fuelled widespread legal and political uncertainty.
ABC/AFP
