South Korea’s Starbucks to shut for staff history lesson after backlash

Starbucks in South Korea will shut all its shops for half a day next week so staff can attend a history lesson following public outrage over a promotional campaign that evoked a deadly crackdown on pro-democracy protesters.

The coffee chain faced widespread criticism after it launched a "Tank Day" reusable cup promotion on the anniversary of the Gwangju Uprising, in which at least 165 civilians were killed by the military. Many believe the real figure to be much higher.

Shinsegae Group, which operates Starbucks under a licensing agreement in South Korea, fired the country's chief executive on the day of the scandal.

Chairman Chung Yong-jin will also take the training, the company announced.

Outlets will close across the country at 15:00 local time (06:00 GMT) for three hours next Monday to accomodate the staff training and will not reopen until the following day.

During the training session all employees at Starbucks Korea stores will "receive education in historical awareness and social sensitivity through watching videos", it added.

It will be the first nationwide early closure of Starbucks Korea since the chain opened in the country in 1999.

The "Tank Day" promotion was for the chain's Tank Series drink tumblers, touted as having "spacious volume" for a large amount of coffee.

Starbucks Korea initially clarified that the Tank Series was one of several series of tumblers it was rolling out in a campaign running from 15 to 26 May.

The company apologised "for causing inconvenience and concern to our customers due to this".

South Korea's President Lee Jae Myung expressed outrage over "this inhumane and disgraceful conduct" on social media during the backlash last month.

Protests were held outside shops and the chain reportedly suffered a significant drop in sales following calls to boycott.

Along with widespread killings, further investigations into the 1980 Gwangju Uprising massacre later confirmed that troops deployed by the military regime of Chun Doo-hwan committed rape and sexual assault.

The uprising set South Korea on its path toward democracy. It became a rallying cry for activists over the following seven years, culminating in a movement in June 1987 that toppled Chun's regime.

Some in South Korea claim the Starbucks campaign also referenced the 1987 movement.

Promotional material for the tumbler included the phrase "tak on the table!" in Korean, using a word that sounds like an object being slapped on a table.

"Tak" was also the word used in a controversial statement given by police in 1987 about the death of a student activist in custody.

Marketers chose the slogan after using an AI tool to help with suggestions, Shinsegae Group said.

Chun's rule ended in 1988. He was convicted of treason and corruption in 1996 but was later released from prison after a presidential pardon. He died in 2021 aged 90.

In 2018, the government apologised for the rape of women by troops in Gwangju.

The grandson of South Korea's last dictator has also apologised to relatives of those killed.

Chun Woo-won called his grandfather a "sinner and slaughterer" and said he was "sincerely sorry for not apologising any sooner".

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