Starbucks Korea to Close All Stores Early for Mandatory History Education Following Controversy

Starbucks Korea, which recently faced controversy over its "Tank Day" event, announced that Shinsegae Group Chairman Chung Yong-jin will undergo history education.

In addition, Starbucks Korea employees nationwide and executives from Shinsegae Group’s E-mart division are also scheduled to receive training on historical awareness and social sensitivity.

Shinsegae Group stated that Chairman Chung will participate in the history and social sensitivity training alongside the CEOs of its affiliates ahead of a presidents' meeting scheduled for June 24.

This follows Chairman Chung's public apology on May 26, serving as a follow-up measure to reaffirm his commitment to taking responsibility and ensuring that incidents similar to the Starbucks marketing controversy do not recur.

Executives from the E-mart division and headquarters staff of Starbucks Korea will receive the training on June 17 at Shinsegae Namsan, the company's corporate training center. All executives from the E-mart division, as well as Starbucks headquarters staff, are expected to attend.

Partners working at Starbucks Korea stores will undergo the training on June 22.

On that day, all stores across the country will close early at 3:00 p.m., and staff at each location will watch educational video materials to receive lectures on historical awareness and social sensitivity.

This marks the first time since its opening in 1999 that all Starbucks Korea stores will close early simultaneously.

Regarding the early closure of Starbucks stores, Shinsegae Group stated, "This demonstrates our determination to take this marketing incident seriously and ensure that it does not happen again."

Reported by Kim Tae-won | Video by Lee Ui-seon | Graphics by Lee Jung-ju | Produced by SBS Digital News
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.