The lights are turned off inside a Starbucks store in Seoul following its early closure at 3 p.m. on Monday. (Yonhap)
The lights are turned off inside a Starbucks store in Seoul following its early closure at 3 p.m. on Monday. (Yonhap)

Starbucks Korea closed all of its stores early on Monday to conduct history training for employees, following backlash over its “Tank Day” promotion in May.

All 2,160 stores closed at 3 p.m., marking the company’s first nationwide early shutdown since opening the first location here in 1999.

Employees participated in the training by watching prerecorded lectures delivered by two professors from Sungkyunkwan University’s history and sociology departments at their respective stores. The program was designed to strengthen historical awareness and social sensitivity.

Shinsegae Group Chairman Chung Yong-jin and other senior executives took part in the same training program on Wednesday, according to Starbucks Korea.

A Starbucks employee cleans a store in Seoul ahead of its early closure at 3 p.m. on Monday. (Yonhap)
A Starbucks employee cleans a store in Seoul ahead of its early closure at 3 p.m. on Monday. (Yonhap)

A notice at the entrance of a Starbucks store in Seoul announces early store closures on Monday. (Yonhap)
A notice at the entrance of a Starbucks store in Seoul announces early store closures on Monday. (Yonhap)

seoy@heraldcorp.com