South Korean police raided the national headquarters of Starbucks Korea on Wednesday, August 5th, 2026, amid an ongoing investigation into a controversial marketing campaign that many accused of trivializing a 1980 massacre.

In May, Starbucks Korea launched a promotion featuring large to-go cups called "tank tumblers" and referred to the event as "Tank Day," coinciding with the anniversary of the 1980 Gwangju Uprising. During this uprising, the ruling military junta violently suppressed pro-democracy protests in Gwangju, resulting in the deaths of at least 165 civilians when tanks were deployed to quell the demonstrations.

The promotion was widely perceived as insensitive, with many interpreting the "tank" reference as alluding to the military vehicles used in the crackdown. Additionally, the campaign appeared to allude to government statements from the time denying the torture death of a student protest leader. The backlash led to mass protests and boycotts of Starbucks across South Korea, the company's third-largest market after the United States and China.

Starbucks Korea quickly withdrew the promotion, stating the mistake was unintentional. Civic groups filed criminal complaints demanding a police investigation for defamation of the victims of the military dictatorship. Shinsegae Group, which operates Starbucks Korea, conducted an internal investigation and concluded the error was unintentional, noting that the team responsible did not connect the promotion to the historical event and that upper management failed to identify the issue.

In June, Starbucks stores nationwide closed for half a day to allow staff to attend history lessons. Shinsegae apologized for the "inappropriate marketing" and acknowledged that the controversy had caused a significant decline in Starbucks sales in South Korea.

The incident became a notable topic during the local elections season, with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung expressing outrage and announcing a government-level boycott of Starbucks. The opposition leader criticized this move, accusing the government of overreach.

A spokesman for Shinsegae Group confirmed, "The Seoul police raided the headquarters of Starbucks Korea this morning as part of the ongoing investigation." Starbucks Korea maintains that its internal investigation found no evidence of wrongdoing.

Sources