Coffee Break: Starbucks Korea Stores Pause for Training After 'Tank ...
The chain will train employees on historical awareness and social sensitivity after a promotion tied to the Gwangju uprising drew public criticism.
- On Monday, Starbucks Korea closed all 2,160 stores nationwide early for staff training, responding to a marketing fiasco that sparked widespread public backlash last month.
- The controversy stemmed from a May 18 'Tank Day' promotion offering tumbler discounts, which critics said evoked painful memories of the 1980 military crackdown on pro-democracy activists in Gwangju.
- Marketing materials used the phrase 'Put it on the table with a sound of Tak!' which drew criticism for reminding some of the 1987 death of student activist Park Jong-cheol.
- Staff attended three hours of 'historical and social awareness' training, while Shinsegae Group Chairman Chung Yong-jin and senior executives will participate in the same program this Wednesday.
- Public reaction remained mixed, as 18-year-old passerby Jang Yu-ra appreciated the response, though 26-year-old banker Yoon Soo-nyung dismissed the measure as a 'performative, box-ticking gesture.
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Starbucks stores in Korea pause for training after 'Tank Day' fiasco
SEOUL -- Lights off. Doors closed. Coffee lovers across South Korea were left craving their fix on Monday as more than 2,000 Starbucks shops shut for staff training after a marketing fiasco.
Coffee break: Starbucks Korea stores pause for training after 'Tank Day' fiasco
Lights off. Doors closed. Coffee lovers across South Korea were left craving their fix on Monday as more than 2,000 Starbucks shops shut for staff training after a marketing fiasco.
(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporters Hong Kuk-ki and Kim Se-rin = Starbucks Korea closed all its stores nationwide early at 3 p.m. on the 22nd.
Starbucks Closes at 3 PM Today for Employee History Awareness Training: First Early Closure in 27 Years. Starbucks Korea will simultaneously close all stores nationwide early at 3 PM on the 22nd and conduct training on history awareness and social sensitivity for its employees. This follows the controversy surrounding the so-called "May 18 Tank Day."
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