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🇰🇷 South Korea /Economy & Trade

Starbucks Korea Closes All Stores for History and Sensitivity Training After Marketing Backlash

From Hankyoreh · () Korean

Translated from Korean, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Sources not specified New plan
  • Starbucks Korea will close all stores nationwide at 3 p.m. today for employee history and social sensitivity training.
  • The training is a response to the controversy surrounding its 'Tank Day' marketing campaign, which was criticized for disrespecting the May 18th Gwangju Democratization Movement.
  • This is the first time all Starbucks stores in Korea have closed early since its market entry in 1999.

Starbucks stores across South Korea will close early today at 3 p.m. for mandatory employee training focused on historical awareness and social sensitivity. This measure comes in response to the significant backlash the company faced over its recent "Tank Day" marketing campaign.

The "Tank Day" promotion, used in conjunction with merchandise sales, drew heavy criticism for its perceived insensitivity and disrespect towards the May 18th Gwangju Democratization Movement and the late activist Park Jong-cheol. Shinsegae Group Chairman Chung Yong-jin, whose conglomerate owns Starbucks Korea, will also participate in separate historical education sessions with other affiliate CEOs before a management meeting on June 24.

The early closure of business operations and all employees receiving training demonstrates the extent to which we take this marketing incident seriously and our determination to prevent its recurrence.

— Shinsegae GroupA statement from Shinsegae Group explaining the decision for early closure and mandatory training.

Historian Oh Jae-yeon from Sungkyunkwan University's Department of History will lead the historical awareness training, covering key modern Korean history events since the 1950s and proper interpretation. Social sensitivity training will be conducted by Gu Jeong-woo, a sociology professor at Sungkyunkwan University, focusing on how to consider historical events, labor rights, gender, and human rights in corporate activities.

This early closure marks a significant moment, being the first time since Starbucks Korea's establishment in 1999 that all its stores nationwide will cease operations simultaneously during business hours. Shinsegae Group emphasized that this decision reflects the gravity with which the company views the marketing incident and its commitment to preventing recurrence. The company has issued multiple apologies, including one from Chairman Chung, acknowledging the "unacceptable and unforgivable" nature of the marketing campaign.

It was a marketing campaign that should not have happened and cannot be tolerated.

— Chung Yong-jinShinsegae Group Chairman Chung Yong-jin's initial apology for the controversial marketing.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Hankyoreh in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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