Starbucks Korea to Close All Stores for Three Hours of Training on June 22

Starbucks Korea will close all stores nationwide at 3:00 pm local time on Monday, June 22, 2026, for three hours of staff training and will not reopen that day. The simultaneous shutdown marks the first time the chain has closed every location in South Korea since it opened there in 1999. A handful of airport outlets will remain open.

Shinsegae Group, which operates Starbucks Korea under a licensing agreement, said all store employees will receive education in historical awareness and social sensitivity by watching videos. The company identified a series of negligent acts before the promotion, including officials signing off without checking the design file and the absence of a legal review.

The training follows a May 18, 2026, "Tank Day" promotion that advertised a reusable cup on the 46th anniversary of the 1980 Gwangju uprising.

The official death toll from that uprising stands at 165 civilians. South Korea ranks as Starbucks' third-largest market after the United States and China, with more than 2,000 stores operating nationwide. Shinsegae Group fired its Korea chief executive on the day news of the promotion broke and issued an apology.

The operator reported a sharp decline in sales in the early days of the resulting controversy, which prompted protests in Seoul and Gwangju.