Starbucks Closes Doors at 3 PM for Company-Wide 'History Education'

[Anchor]

Starbucks, which faced controversy over its so-called "5·18 Tank Day" marketing, closed its stores early yesterday (June 22) to conduct history awareness training for all employees. Facing a significant hit to its revenue and brand image, the company took the drastic step of early closure for the first time in its 27 years of operation in Korea.

Reporter Jeong Jun-ho has the story.

[Reporter]

A Starbucks store in Mapo-gu, Seoul, yesterday afternoon.

Despite being a time when the store should be bustling with customers, the interior is quiet.

As the clock struck 3 PM, customers were ushered out, and staff members pulled down the blinds and turned away late arrivals.

Starbucks Korea, embroiled in the "Tank Day" marketing controversy, ended operations early at all 2,160 stores nationwide to provide history education for its entire staff.

This marks the first time Starbucks has closed its stores early since entering the Korean market in 1999, 27 years ago.

On June 17, 150 employees, including headquarters staff, received training on historical awareness and social sensitivity, and employees at each store watched the recorded session together.

[Koo Jeong-woo / Professor of Sociology, Sungkyunkwan University (Starbucks Training Instructor): (People) are experiencing various conflicts, and because they possess sensitivity toward historical events, it is very important to understand and study social sensitivity well.]

Previously, Starbucks was embroiled in controversy last month for using phrases such as "Tank Day" and "Bang on the desk!" during a tumbler promotion event on May 18, which were criticized for mocking the May 18 Democratization Movement and the death of activist Park Jong-cheol, who was tortured to death.

As a boycott movement emerged, Starbucks' average daily card transaction volume at one point dropped by approximately 33%.

With its corporate image severely damaged, the company opted for staff-wide training, accepting the loss in revenue caused by the early store closures.

Shinsegae Group Chairman Chung Yong-jin also plans to watch the same training video.

[Bae Gyu-tae / Mapo-gu, Seoul: Wouldn't it be more important for those who make the decisions to receive the training? They should admit what was wrong.]

Starbucks plans to establish a multi-layered verification system to review social sensitivity during the marketing planning stage.

(Video reporting: Park Hyun-chul, Video editing: Park Ji-in, Design: Lee Jun-ho, VJ: Jeong Han-wook)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.