Shinsegae Group Chairman Chung Yong-jin and E-mart division executives to receive separate training; Starbucks Korea overhauls marketing verification system and expands social contribution programs

A Starbucks Korea training session. [Starbucks Korea]
A Starbucks Korea training session. [Starbucks Korea]

Starbucks Korea, battered by the "Tank Day" controversy, will require all employees to undergo history awareness training. Shinsegae Group Chairman Chung Yong-jin and E-mart division executives will also receive separate training and pledge to prevent a recurrence.

Starbucks, E-mart affiliates to receive training; Chairman Chung pledges no repeat

Shinsegae Group said Monday it will conduct history awareness and social sensitivity training for executives at E-mart division affiliates and Starbucks Korea headquarters staff. The training will be held Tuesday at Shinsegae Namsan, the group's in-house training center, and will bring together Starbucks Korea staff as well as E-mart division affiliate executives.

Store partners will receive training on June 22. All stores nationwide will close early at 3 p.m. that day so staff can watch an educational video. It will be the first time all Starbucks Korea stores have simultaneously closed early since the chain launched in 1999.

Chairman Chung will attend a history awareness and social sensitivity session alongside affiliate chief executives ahead of a presidents' meeting on June 24. Employees at other E-mart division affiliates will complete the same training online over two weeks beginning July 1. Headquarters staff and field managers will be the first to participate.

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

The social sensitivity component will be led by Koo Jeong-woo, a professor of sociology at Sungkyunkwan University. The session will address how companies should factor in socially sensitive issues — including history, labor, gender and human rights — in marketing and other business activities. Shinsegae Group said it aims to use the history awareness training as an opportunity to establish itself as a socially responsible company that grows alongside South Korea.

Starbucks Korea staff participating in a cultural heritage preservation activity. [Starbucks Korea]
Starbucks Korea staff participating in a cultural heritage preservation activity. [Starbucks Korea]

No second Tank Day: decision-making system to be overhauled

Starbucks Korea will overhaul its online and offline marketing processes to build risk prevention into its systems.

The Tank Day incident occurred because language out of step with mainstream sensibilities was used at the planning stage and was not caught during the review and approval process. In response, the company has established a multi-layered verification system to ensure risk checks are carried out 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. Where reviews previously focused on legal compliance and brand fit, they will now also screen in advance for socially sensitive issues including history, anniversaries, politics, disasters, military matters, gender, violence and hate speech.

Marketing campaigns will be given sufficient review time from planning through launch to ensure thorough vetting. Approval and sign-off procedures will also adopt a standardized reporting format so that timing and key messaging can be confirmed at a glance.

As a final step, the company will create 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 strengthen its corporate social responsibility activities. The company plans to establish a social contribution fund to improve infrastructure at modern 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 also plans to promote history education for future generations through a range of initiatives, including support for field-based history learning trips for elementary, middle and high school students, sponsorship of university history research clubs, and backing for projects aimed at spreading accurate historical knowledge.

“마케팅 고의성 증거 찾지 못해…피해자 치유에 최선” [‘스벅 사태’ 대국민 사과]

“마케팅 고의성 증거 찾지 못해…피해자 치유에 최선” [‘스벅 사태’ 대국민 사과]

정용진 신세계그룹 회장이 26일 스타벅스코리아의 ‘탱크데이’ 논란에 대해 사과하고 “내부 시스템과 관리 체계를 근본부터 다시 점검해 오늘의 사과를 끝이 아닌 시작으
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