Starbucks Korea will close every outlet in the country at 3 p.m. on June 22 so employees can receive training on historical awareness and social sensitivity, Shinsegae Group said on Monday. The decision follows strong public criticism and what the company described as a "very significant" decline in sales after a recent marketing promotion stirred controversy.
The chain's parent operator under Shinsegae Group said the full-day, nationwide early closure is intended to ensure staff across all locations receive the same instruction. Shinsegae also announced an internal training schedule: Starbucks Korea headquarters personnel and executives from Shinsegae's E-Mart division will attend a session on June 17 at the group's training centre, while Shinsegae Chairman Chung Yong-jin and fellow affiliate CEOs are set for a separate program on June 24.
The marketing campaign at issue, a 'Tank Day' tumbler promotion, coincided with the anniversary of the May 18 Gwangju Uprising - an event when the then-military government sent troops and tanks to put down pro-democracy demonstrations. The promotion drew widespread condemnation and was followed by a substantial drop in sales, according to the company statement cited by Shinsegae.
Shinsegae said the training will include a history awareness lecture led by a history professor from Sungkyunkwan University. That session will cover major events in South Korea's modern and contemporary history since the 1950s and address how those events should be understood. A separate social sensitivity module, taught by a sociology professor from the same university, will examine how firms ought to consider sensitive social topics - including history, labour, gender and human rights - in marketing and other corporate activities.
In addition to staff training, Starbucks Korea will change its marketing approval process. Shinsegae said the company plans to introduce a social-sensitivity checklist that explicitly covers areas such as history, commemorative dates, politics, disasters, military issues, gender, violence and hate expressions. The group framed these measures as reflecting how seriously it views the controversy and as steps to prevent a similar incident from occurring again.
Shinsegae said this action marks the first nationwide early closure of Starbucks Korea stores since the chain opened in the country in 1999. Starbucks Korea had more than 2,000 stores at the end of 2024, according to its annual impact report, and is the country's leading coffee chain by customer payments, as measured by data firm WISEAPP.
The company statement also noted that Shinsegae's E-Mart owns Starbucks Korea. Shinsegae Chairman Chung Yong-jin issued a public apology after the promotional campaign prompted the backlash.
Shinseaegae's steps include both immediate, company-wide instruction for frontline staff and targeted training for leadership, alongside formal changes to marketing governance. The history-focused lecture and the social-sensitivity seminar are intended to combine factual review of past events with guidance on corporate considerations for sensitive social issues when developing promotions and other customer-facing activities.
The group's announcements do not provide additional financial figures beyond noting the sales decline described as "very significant," and they do not specify further disciplinary measures or long-term policy changes beyond the new checklist and the scheduled trainings.