South Korean police searched Starbucks Korea’s headquarters in Seoul on Wednesday as part of an investigation into a marketing campaign. The raid, conducted by the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, targeted records tied to the company's "Tank Day" promotion.
The promotion has sparked one of the country’s biggest recent corporate public-relations crises after it was launched on the anniversary of the 1980 Gwangju uprising. Starbucks Korea faced major backlash and complaints from individuals accusing the company of trivializing a deadly massacre and making light of the democracy movement.
The raid occurred months after the campaign was accused of insulting the victims of the uprising. Police stated that the internal investigation conducted by the company was not thorough enough.