Starbucks Korea to temporarily shut all stores for history lesson after bungled coffee promotion

Starbucks Korea will temporarily close all over 2,000 stores on June 22nd for mandatory modern Korean history and social sensitivity training. This decision follows a disastrous promotion on May 18th, the anniversary of the 1980 Gwangju massacre, which evoked painful memories and led to public and political backlash, including boycotts and customer anger. The half-day closures are expected to cost the company an estimated 2.1 billion won ($1.4 million) in lost sales. The training aims to prevent future marketing controversies by educating staff on historical and social sensitivities. The promotion, which used the slogan "thwack on the desk," was pulled quickly, but the fallout led to the chief executive's dismissal and ongoing police investigations.

Starbucks in South Korea will close all its stores for half a day next week to provide staff with a history lesson. This decision follows public backlash over a promotional campaign that coincided with the anniversary of the Gwangju Uprising, a 1980 military crackdown on pro-democracy protesters where at least 165 civilians were killed. The promotion, which featured "Tank Day" reusable cups, was criticized for evoking the violent suppression. Shinsegae Group, the operator of Starbucks in South Korea, fired the country's chief executive and announced that Chairman Chung Yong-jin will also undergo the training. The nationwide closure will occur next Wednesday at 3 PM local time for three hours, with employees receiving education on historical awareness and social sensitivity. This marks the first nationwide early closure for Starbucks Korea since its establishment in 1999.

Starbucks Korea will close all its stores nationwide early next week for mandatory "historical awareness and social sensitivity" training. This decision follows a public backlash to a marketing campaign that used terms like "Tank Day" and "5/18," which evoked the 1980 military crackdown on a pro-democracy uprising in Gwangju. The coffee chain's local operator, Shinsegae Group, stated the training is intended to learn from the incident and prevent future occurrences. Starbucks Korea CEO Son Jung-hyun was fired over the campaign, which Starbucks global headquarters acknowledged was unintentional but unacceptable. This marks the first time Starbucks stores in South Korea have shut down simultaneously across the country since its launch in 1999.

Starbucks Korea will close its stores nationwide for half a day next week to provide staff with a history lesson. This decision follows a public outcry over a recent promotional campaign. The campaign, titled "Tank Day," coincided with the anniversary of the 1980 Gwangju uprising, a pro-democracy movement that was violently suppressed by the military. The promotion, which occurred on May 18, the same date as the anniversary, evoked the deadly crackdown where many civilians were killed. Starbucks Korea is taking this action to address the historical insensitivity of its campaign.