Starbucks Korea to Close Stores for History Lessons After 'Tank Day' Furor
Starbucks Korea will shut all outlets early next week for mandatory history and sensitivity training following a marketing campaign that evoked the 1980 military crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Gwangju.
Starbucks stores across South Korea will close early on Monday next week so employees can receive training on historical awareness and social sensitivity, its local operator Shinsegae Group announced. This marks the first time since Starbucks launched in South Korea in 1999 that all stores have closed early simultaneously.
The move comes after a marketing campaign by Starbucks Korea sparked outrage last month by using the phrases "Tank Day" and "5/18" in promoting tumblers, referencing the May 18, 1980 military crackdown on a pro-democracy uprising in Gwangju. The government death toll from the incident is over 200, but activists and historians estimate the actual figure may exceed 2,000.
Starbucks Korea CEO Son Jung-hyun was fired over the PR disaster, which the global headquarters called "unintentional" but something that "never should have happened." Shinsegae Group Chairman Chung Yong-jin and top executives will undergo separate training on Wednesday. The company stated the measure is intended to learn from the incident and prevent similar cases across the group.
Shinsegae Group, operator of Starbucks in South Korea, said all outlets nationwide will close at 3 p.m. (06:00 GMT) on Monday for training. The Gwangju Uprising was a key catalyst for South Korea's democratization, leading to its first free elections in 1987 after decades of military rule. South Korea is Starbucks' second-largest overseas market after China, with over 2,000 outlets.
