Starbucks will temporarily close more than 2,000 stores across South Korea on Monday at 3 p.m. local time for a mandatory half-day program on the country’s modern history and “social sensitivity.” The company says workers will watch recorded lectures, and most outlets will shut, except for some airport branches. The move is a response to a marketing campaign that ignited public and political outrage.
The controversy began with a May 18 discount promotion, the anniversary of the 1980 Gwangju massacre. Starbucks Korea promoted a thermal cup line called “Tank” and labeled the day “Tank Day,” wording many Koreans saw as a reference to the military crackdown on pro-democracy protests in Gwangju. Anger deepened over the slogan “thwack on the desk,” which evoked a notorious police explanation after student activist Park Jong-cheol died under torture in 1987.
Shinsegae Group, which operates Starbucks Korea under license from the U.S. parent company, said its marketers chose the slogan after consulting an AI tool for ideas. The company later found that some managers who approved the campaign had not even opened the email attachments showing the materials. The campaign was removed within hours, but by then customers were smashing cups, boycott calls spread, and government offices cut ties with the chain. Starbucks Korea’s chief executive was also dismissed that day.
Starbucks said it was “deeply sorry for an unacceptable marketing incident” that “should never have happened.” Shinsegae chairman Chung Yong-jin, who also issued a written apology and then bowed three times at a televised press conference, will take the same history course next week with other senior executives. Starbucks headquarters in Seattle also apologized to the May 18 Foundation after the group demanded a formal response. The company says the closures are meant to underscore the severity of the mistake and prevent similar incidents. Market data show payments at Starbucks Korea fell 26% in the week after the scandal, recovered 12.8% in the first week of June, but remained about 25% below pre-crisis levels. An internal inquiry found no evidence the campaign was intentionally offensive, but a police investigation is still underway, and Chung and the former CEO are listed as criminal suspects in Seoul.
