Starbucks Korea staff to undergo history training after 'Tank Day' controversy

SEOUL, June 15 (AJP) - All employees of Starbucks Korea including its operator Shinsegae Group as well as other staff at its affiliates will undergo training to raise awareness of history and enhance social responsibility, the retail giant said Monday.

The training is scheduled for Wednesday at its facility Shinsegae Namsan in central Seoul, where all Starbucks staff are expected to attend.

It will include lectures delivered by Oh Je-yeon, a professor of Korean history at Sungkyunkwan University, and Koo Jung-woo, a sociology professor at the same university. They are expected to cover modern and contemporary history as well as social issues companies should be mindful of, including labor, gender, and human rights.

The internal educational sessions come about a month after the popular coffee chain caused a stir over a tumbler promotion on May 18, coinciding with the anniversary of the 1980 Gwangju Democratic Uprising, which drew backlash for using the term "Tank Day," widely seen as reminiscent of painful historical memories.

The group's CEO Chung Yong-jin will also attend separate training on June 24, before holding a meeting with affiliate heads and executives, as part of efforts to fulfill pledges made in his public apology at a press conference shortly after the controversy.
  From July 1, a similar two-week online training program will also be conducted for staff and executives at its affiliates including supermarket chain E-mart.

All Starbucks Korea outlets will also close early at 3 p.m. next Monday, the first such move since its opening here in 1999, in a rare step seen as part of its efforts to rebrand itself.

The coffee chain also vowed to overhaul its internal marketing processes, which will include a checklist and require reviews involving heads of multiple departments and outside experts before final approval is made.

It also plans to support history education for younger generations including field trips for students and projects aimed at improving public understanding of history.

"We will use the upcoming training as an opportunity to establish ourselves as a socially responsible company that grows together with South Korea," a Shinsegae spokesman said.

Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.