Starbucks Closes Doors at 3 PM for Staff Education Following 'Tank Day' Controversy

[Anchor]

Starbucks locations across the country closed their doors at 3 PM today (June 22). Following a significant blow to its sales and brand image due to the "May 18 Tank Day" marketing controversy, the company conducted mandatory historical awareness training for all employees. This marks the first time in 27 years since entering the Korean market that the company has ended operations early.

Reporter Jung Jun-ho has the story.

[Reporter]

A Starbucks store in Mapo-gu, Seoul, this 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 asked to leave, staff pulled down the blinds, and late arrivals were turned away.

Starbucks Korea, which sparked controversy over its "Tank Day" marketing, closed all 2,160 stores nationwide early to conduct history training for its entire staff.

This early closure is the first of its kind since Starbucks entered 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 today.

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

Previously, Starbucks was embroiled in controversy last month when it used phrases like "Tank Day" and "Bang on the desk!" during a tumbler promotion event, which were criticized for mocking the May 18 Democratization Movement and the torture-death of activist Park Jong-cheol.

As a boycott movement emerged, the average daily card payment amount at Starbucks dropped by approximately 33% at one point.

Facing a major hit to its corporate image, the company decided to accept the loss in sales from the early closure to implement follow-up measures in the form of company-wide education.

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

[Bae Gyu-tae / Mapo-gu, Seoul: Wouldn't it be more important for the decision-makers to receive this training? They should admit when something is wrong.]

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

Reported by Park Hyun-chul | Video by Park Ji-in | Graphics by Lee Jun-ho | VJ by Jung Han-wook | Produced by SBS Digital News
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.