Starbucks in trouble: Police raided company headquarters following massive protests
A Starbucks Korea campaign, which included the terms "SS Tank" and "Tank Day," sparked accusations that it mocked one of the most traumatic events in the country's history. Following the uproar, police raided the company's offices, the campaign was canceled, and the CEO was dismissed.
South Korean police raided the Starbucks headquarters in the capital, Seoul, this week as part of an investigation into a marketing campaign that sparked public outrage. The coffee giant was accused of trivializing the memory of the country's struggle for democracy in the 1980s, which claimed many lives, as reported this morning, Thursday, in the British newspaper The Guardian.
According to the police, investigators searched the company's offices on Tuesday. Authorities did not provide further details, but local media reported that searches were also conducted at the homes of senior officials in the international chain's Korean branch.
The storm first broke following the launch of a series of reusable stainless steel cups named "SS Tank" and the declaration of May 18 as "Tank Day," a date that marks the anniversary of the Gwangju Uprising in 1980, during which the military regime violently suppressed pro-democracy demonstrations. In addition, the campaign used the slogan "Thwack it on the table!" which many interpreted as a reference to the death of student activist Park Jong-chul in 1987. At the time, the police claimed the young man died after he "thwacked the table," while in reality, he died from torture during an interrogation — an attempt by the authorities to hide the circumstances of his death.
Following the public anger, the Shinsegae Group, which holds 67.5% of Starbucks Korea's shares, canceled the campaign within a few hours and dismissed the company's CEO. The group's chairman, Chung Yong-jin, subsequently issued a public apology on television. Later, Starbucks Korea closed all its branches across the country for one day to conduct mandatory training for employees on history and social awareness.
The police investigation was opened following complaints filed by family members of the victims of the repression in Gwangju, where, according to official figures, about 200 people were killed. South Korea's transition to democracy gained momentum in 1987, when authoritarian President Chun Doo-hwan, whose government was responsible for suppressing the Gwangju Uprising, agreed to constitutional reforms that introduced direct presidential elections following months of pro-democracy protests.
