Gwangju Mayor Welcomes Starbucks Korea's Training Decision After 'Tank Day' Row

Gwangju Mayor Kang Gi-jung welcomed Starbucks Korea's decision to close all its stores for employee training on historical awareness and social sensitivity. The decision comes after the coffee chain faced backlash for its "Tank Day" marketing campaign around the May 18th Gwangju Democratization Movement anniversary.

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I respect Starbucks Korea's choice.

Kang expressed his respect for Starbucks Korea's choice, stating on Facebook that he was "relieved" the company would implement the "nationwide store closure" and "employee history education" he had proposed. He hoped this "bone-cutting self-reflection" would help solidify democracy and the spirit of May 18th.

Starbucks Korea announced that on June 22, all stores would close early at 3 p.m. for mandatory training. This marks the first time since its entry into South Korea in 1999 that all stores will cease operations simultaneously. Shinsegae Group Chairman Chung Yong-jin will also undergo separate historical education on June 24 with affiliate company representatives. Training for executives at E-Mart and Starbucks Korea headquarters staff occurred on June 17.

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I am relieved that Starbucks will implement the 'nationwide store closure' and 'employee history education' that I proposed.

In late May, Kang had urged Chung to take "decisive action" by asking if Starbucks Korea would follow the example of its U.S. counterpart, which closed 8,000 stores in April 2018 for racial bias prevention training after a controversy involving a Black customer. The U.S. Starbucks trained 175,000 employees during that half-day closure.

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I hope that through this bone-cutting self-reflection, democracy and the spirit of May 18th will be more firmly established.