After campaign associated with massacre, Starbucks fires CEO in South Korea and gives history lessons to employees

Starbucks fires CEO in South Korea and gives history lessons to employees
AP Photo/Lee Jin-man
Starbucks' operation in South Korea announced on Monday (15) that it will close all stores in the country early on June 22 to conduct mandatory training on history and social sensitivity.
The move comes after a strong negative reaction to a marketing campaign widely interpreted as offensive to victims of a military crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in 1980.
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The Shinsegae group, which owns 67.5% of Starbucks Korea, said that executives and employees at headquarters will participate in training led by history and sociology professors. Units across the country will close at 3pm next Monday (22nd), so that employees can watch the recording of the session.
The crisis began when the chain tried to promote a line of stainless steel thermal cups called "SS Tank", declaring May 18th as "Tank Day". The date marks the anniversary of the 1980 pro-democracy uprising in the city of Gwangju, in the south of the country, which was violently repressed by the military government of the time, with the use of troops, tanks and helicopters, leaving hundreds dead and injured.
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The campaign generated even more outrage by using the slogan "Hit the table!", an interpretation associated with a 1987 police statement that attempted to cover up the death by torture of student activist Park Jong-chol. At the time, authorities falsely stated that he had died after investigators "knocked the table".
Faced with immediate public reaction, the Shinsegae group canceled the campaign within hours and fired the CEO of Starbucks Korea.
The group's president, Chung Yong-jin, made an apology on national television, while police opened an investigation following complaints from family members of victims of the Gwangju massacre. Chung will also participate in a separate training with executives from the group's companies, scheduled for June 24.
Chung Yong-jin, chairman of the Shinsegae Group, bows in apology in Seoul, South Korea, on Tuesday, May 26, 2026
AP/Lee Jin-ma
According to the company, the decision to close all stores early, for the first time since Starbucks arrived in the country in 1999, and promoting large-scale training demonstrates the seriousness with which the group takes the controversy and its intention to avoid further similar episodes.
The repression in Gwangju occurred months after General Chun Doo-hwan took power in a coup at the end of 1979.
Official records indicate around 200 deaths, although activists claim that the real number is much higher. The government also arrested tens of thousands of people on the grounds of combating social unrest.
Popular outrage over Chun's dictatorship led to large national protests in 1987, forcing the adoption of direct presidential elections, a milestone considered the beginning of South Korea's democratic transition.

Source: G1