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yesterday

Starbucks Korea Closes All Stores Early for Mandatory History and Sensitivity Training

Ordered after a May promotion tied to the Gwangju uprising, the training aims to rebuild public trust during ongoing probes

The day of the reusable cup promotion -- May 18 -- coincided with the 46th anniversary of the Gwangju uprising in which 165 civilians were killed when tanks and troops were deployed, according to the official toll
Starbucks Korea -- the coffee giant's third-largest market after the United States and China -- was embroiled in a major controversy last month over a promotion that evoked painful memories of a 1980 government crackdown on pro-democracy activists
The logo of Starbucks is seen in Seoul, in this file photo taken June 1, 2026. (Yonhap)
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Overview

  • The company shut all 2,160 stores at 3 p.m. on Monday for three hours of mandatory 'brand value' workshops for frontline staff, with senior executives scheduled to attend follow-up sessions later in the week.
  • The training is a response to a May 18 online 'Tank Day' promotion that was suspended within hours after the wording and imagery recalled the 1980 Gwangju military crackdown and other democratization-era traumas.
  • The backlash led to protests, a sharp early drop in sales, the dismissal of Starbucks Korea's CEO, and public apologies from Shinsegae Group's chairman.
  • An internal review by the operator, Shinsegae, found approval failures including skipped legal checks, approvers who did not open design files, and the use of an AI tool to draft slogans that allowed the campaign to run.
  • Legal and administrative probes are continuing and the company faces ongoing reputational and financial risk, so observers will watch whether training, leadership actions, and formal investigations restore customer trust and limit further penalties.