[Edaily Reporter Kim Jeong-yu] All employees at Starbucks Korea’s headquarters and stores—which recently sparked controversy over marketing that disparaged the May 18 Democratic Uprising—will undergo training to cultivate historical and social sensitivity. This is a measure taken by the Shinsegae Group to prevent a recurrence of this controversy. Accordingly, most Starbucks stores in Korea are scheduled to close on the afternoon of the 22nd. Additionally, Shinsegae Group Chairman Chung Yong-jin and other group executives and employees have agreed to undergo separate training.

Shinsegae Group announced on the 15th that it will conduct training on historical awareness and social sensitivity on the 17th for executives of affiliates in the #E-Mart division and employees at Starbucks Korea headquarters.

The training for executives of Starbucks and E-Mart Division affiliates will take place at the company’s training center (Shinsegae Namsan). Subsequently, on the 22nd, training will also be provided for partners working at Starbucks Korea stores. On that day, all Starbucks stores nationwide will close at 3:00 p.m. Employees of other E-Mart Division affiliates will undergo online training over a two-week period starting on the 1st of next month.

This marks the first time since its opening in 1999 that all Starbucks Korea stores will close early simultaneously. A Shinsegae Group official explained, “The fact that Starbucks Korea is closing early and having all executives and employees undergo training demonstrates how seriously the company is taking this marketing incident and its commitment to preventing a recurrence.”

Chairman Chung Yong-jin will also undergo separate history education alongside the heads of affiliated companies. Prior to presiding over the executive meeting scheduled for the 24th, Chairman Chung will receive training on historical awareness and social sensitivity. Previously, Chairman Chung had promised in a public apology, “I, too, will undergo history education.” This appears to be a renewed emphasis on the commitment of the entire Shinsegae Group executive team to take responsibility.

Professor Oh Je-yeon of the Department of History at Sungkyunkwan University will lead the historical awareness training. He will review modern and contemporary historical events since the 1950s and deliver a lecture on how to interpret them. Professor Koo Jeong-woo of the Department of Sociology at Sungkyunkwan University will lead the social sensitivity training. He will discuss how to address social issues such as history, labor, gender, and human rights in corporate activities.

Meanwhile, Starbucks Korea has decided to undertake a major overhaul of its entire marketing process—from initial planning to approval and execution—across all online and offline channels. This decision stems from the judgment that the recent marketing controversy was largely due to the use of expressions at the operational planning stage that were out of step with common understanding, coupled with a failure to filter these out during the reporting and approval stages.

First, the company will create a “social sensitivity” checklist based on advice from external expert organizations and conduct reviews using it. This means the company intends to proactively review issues with high social sensitivity, such as “history, commemorative dates, politics, disasters, military affairs, gender, violence, and hate speech.” Additionally, the company will ensure sufficient review time during marketing projects to prevent inadequate vetting and will standardize reporting formats to enable clear verification during the approval and consensus stages.

Furthermore, a new system will be established to allow heads of relevant departments—including the responsible department, quality control, and legal affairs—to conduct a final review immediately before marketing execution. This aims to implement multiple verification procedures for all content exposed to the public. Detailed records will also be maintained regarding “who gave final approval and who provided what feedback.”

In conjunction with these measures, Starbucks Korea will also strengthen its corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities. The company will establish a CSR fund to preserve historical value and contribute to raising awareness of the value of social sacrifice. Plans are also underway to support field trips to historical sites for elementary, middle, and high school students, sponsor university history research clubs, and support projects aimed at promoting accurate historical understanding.