SEOUL – Starbucks in South Korea is set to shut down all its locations early on June 22 for a mandatory training session focused on history and social sensitivity. This decision comes in response to significant criticism over a recent marketing campaign that was widely seen as insensitive to the victims of a violent military crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators in 1980.
Shinsegae Group, holding a 67.5% ownership in Starbucks Korea, announced that its executives along with the staff at Starbucks Korea’s headquarters will participate in a training session on Wednesday. This session will be conducted by experts in history and sociology. In addition, all Starbucks outlets across the country will close at 3 p.m. the following Monday to allow employees to view a recording of the training, according to Shinsegae’s statement.
The controversy began when the coffee giant launched a marketing campaign featuring stainless-steel tumblers branded as “SS Tank,” and designated May 18 as “Tank Day.” This date coincides with the anniversary of the 1980 pro-democracy movement in Gwangju, which was brutally suppressed by the then military regime using force, including tanks and helicopters, resulting in numerous deaths and injuries.
The campaign aggravated the situation further by incorporating the slogan “Thwack it on the table!” Many interpreted this as a nod to a 1987 police statement that sought to obscure the torture-related death of student activist Park Jong-chol, where officials had falsely claimed he died after they “hit the desk with a thwack.”
The immediate backlash led Shinsegae to swiftly cancel the campaign and dismiss the CEO of Starbucks Korea. Shinsegae Chairman Chung Yong-jin later delivered a public apology via national television, while police launched an investigation following complaints from the families of the Gwangju crackdown victims. Additionally, Chung is scheduled to participate in separate training with other Shinsegae affiliate executives on June 24.
Shinsegae said the decision to close all Starbucks stores early for the first time since the chain’s 1999 launch in South Korea and require companywide training shows “how seriously it views the marketing controversy and its determination to prevent a recurrence.”
The crackdown in Gwangju came months after General Chun Doo-hwan seized power in a coup in late 1979. Government records show about 200 people died in Gwangju, but activists say the true death toll was much higher. Chun’s government also imprisoned tens of thousands, saying it was rooting out social evils.
Public anger over Chun’s dictatorship led to massive nationwide protests in 1987, forcing him to accept a constitutional revision introducing direct presidential elections, which is widely seen as the start of South Korea’s transition to democracy.
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