Park Jong-chol

Starbucks Korea will close all stores early for mandatory history training following a controversial marketing campaign perceived as mocking victims of the 1980 Gwangju pro-democracy uprising. The campaign, which used the slogan 'Thwack it on the table!', was canceled after backlash, and the CEO was fired. The training aims to address the controversy and prevent future issues.

Starbucks Korea will close all stores early on June 22 for mandatory history and social sensitivity training following backlash over a marketing campaign perceived as mocking victims of the 1980 Gwangju pro-democracy uprising. Shinsegae Group, which owns a majority stake in Starbucks Korea, canceled the controversial 'Tank Day' promotion and fired the CEO after the campaign used a slogan linked to a 1987 police cover-up of a student activist's torture death.

Starbucks Korea will close all stores early on June 22 for mandatory history and social sensitivity training following backlash over a marketing campaign perceived as mocking victims of the 1980 Gwangju military crackdown. The campaign, promoting 'SS Tank' tumblers with the slogan 'Thwack it on the table!', was canceled hours after public outrage, leading to the CEO's dismissal and a police investigation.