[SPOTLIGHT]26/06/15 Starbucks Korea to close stores for history training after 'Tank D

[성기화 요셉]

A controversial “Tank Day” promotion coinciding with the 46th anniversary of the Gwangju uprising had caused nationwide backlash 

Activists hold placards as they take part in a rally calling for a boycott of the Starbucks coffee chain in Seoul on May 27. (Photo: AFP)

By AFP, Seoul

Published: June 15, 2026 05:53 AM GMT

Updated: June 15, 2026 06:03 AM GMT

Starbucks stores across South Korea will shutter for half a day next week for staff to attend a history lesson following a promotional campaign gone awry, the coffee giant said on June 15.

Starbucks Korea, with more than 2,000 stores nationwide, found itself embroiled in public uproar last month when it ran a "Tank Day" promotion evoking a deadly military crackdown on a 1980 pro-democracy uprising.

The day of the reusable cup promotion -- May 18 -- coincided with the 46th anniversary of the Gwangju uprising in which 165 civilians were killed, according to the official toll, though many believe the real figure to be much higher.

South Korea is the company's third largest market after the United States and China.

Shinsegae Group, which operates Starbucks under a licensing agreement, fired its Korea chief executive the very day news of the scandal broke, and apologised.

On June 15, it said all employees at Starbucks Korea stores will "receive education in historical awareness and social sensitivity through watching videos".

Stores countrywide will shutter at 3:00 pm (0600 GMT) on June 22 for three hours of training and not reopen -- the first such simultaneous closure since Starbucks opened in South Korea in 1999.

The only exclusion will be for a handful of outlets at airports, a Shinsegae representative told AFP.

The group said it had identified a series of negligent acts leading up to the promotion, including officials signing off without checking the design file.

There had also been no legal review.

The controversy, which sparked protests in Seoul and Gwangju, sparked a "sharp decline in sales" in the early days of the scandal, according to the operator.

President Lee Jae Myung had expressed outrage at "this inhumane and disgraceful conduct" on X amid the backlash.