Shinsegae chief Jung Yong-jin to undergo historical awareness training after 'Tank Day' controversy

Starbucks Korea, still reeling from the "Tank Day" controversy, will put all of its employees through mandatory historical awareness training. Shinsegae Group Chairman Jung Yong-jin and other E-mart division executives will also undergo a separate session and pledge to prevent a recurrence.

Shinsegae Group said Monday it will hold historical awareness and social sensitivity training for executives across its E-mart division affiliates and Starbucks Korea headquarters staff. The session is set for June 17 at Shinsegae Namsan, the group's in-house training center, and will bring together Starbucks Korea staff and executives from all E-mart division affiliates.

Store partners will receive their training on June 22. All stores nationwide will close early at 3 p.m. that day to screen an educational video. It will be the first time since Starbucks Korea launched in 1999 that all of its stores have simultaneously closed early.

Chairman Jung will attend a historical awareness and social sensitivity session alongside affiliate chief executives ahead of a group presidents' meeting on June 24. Employees at other E-mart division affiliates will complete the same training online over two weeks beginning July 1, with headquarters staff and on-site managers going first.

The historical education component will be led by Oh Je-yeon, a history professor at Sungkyunkwan University who specializes in modern Korean history. Oh will walk participants through major events in modern and contemporary Korean history since the 1950s and discuss how to understand them correctly.

Ku Jeong-woo, a sociology professor at Sungkyunkwan University, will lead the social sensitivity portion, covering how companies should factor in social issues — including history, labor, gender and human rights — in marketing and other business activities. Shinsegae Group said it aims to use the training as an opportunity to establish itself as "a socially healthy company that grows alongside the Republic of Korea."

Starbucks Korea will also overhaul its online and offline marketing processes to build a systematic approach to risk prevention.

The controversy arose after language out of step with mainstream public sentiment was used during the planning stage and went unchecked through the approval and sign-off process. In response, the company has established a multi-layered verification system to ensure risk reviews are conducted at every stage, from initial planning through approval and execution.

The company will also develop a "social sensitivity" checklist, drawing on advice from external specialist organizations, to be applied as a mandatory check from the planning stage onward. Where reviews previously focused on legal compliance and brand fit, they will now also screen in advance for socially sensitive areas including history, anniversaries, politics, disasters, the military, gender, violence and hate speech.

For marketing campaigns, the company will secure sufficient review time from planning through launch to ensure thorough vetting. Approval and sign-off forms will be standardized so that timing and key messaging can be confirmed at a glance throughout the process.

As a final step, the company will introduce a system requiring heads of relevant departments — including quality and legal — as well as the team in charge to conduct a final review. Records of who gave final approval for any given content and what feedback was provided will also be rigorously maintained.

Starbucks Korea will also expand its corporate social responsibility activities. The company plans to establish a social contribution fund to improve infrastructure at modern and contemporary historical sites and support commemorative projects tied to national and major historical anniversaries. It will also expand support for individuals dedicated to the public good through its existing Hero Program.

The company is planning a range of initiatives to promote historical education for younger generations, including support for field trips to historical sites for elementary, middle and high school students, sponsorship of university history research clubs, and backing for projects aimed at spreading accurate historical knowledge.