Investigation of Starbucks Korea’s Controversial Marketing Campaign

In Seoul, South Korea, authorities have conducted a raid on Starbucks Korea. This action is part of an inquiry regarding a marketing campaign considered defamatory towards pro-democracy movements from the 1980s.

Investigators inspected the Starbucks headquarters located in southern Seoul on Tuesday, as reported by the police on Wednesday. Details remain scarce, yet Korean media revealed that investigators also visited homes of Starbucks executives.

The coffee chain stirred public outrage with its promotional campaign for stainless steel thermal cups, named ‘SS Tank’, declared on May 18 as ‘Tank Day’. This date coincides with the anniversary of a pro-democracy uprising in Gwangju in 1980. The movement was severely suppressed by South Korea’s rulers at the time, supported by military forces.

The campaign featured the slogan ‘Hit it on the table!’ interpreted by many as referencing a notorious police statement from 1987. It attempted to cover up the death by torture of student activist Park Jong-chol. Authorities claimed Park died after investigators ‘hit the desk with a loud sound’.

Public backlash led Shinsegae Group, which owns 67.5% of Starbucks Korea, to halt the campaign within hours and fire Starbucks Korea’s CEO. Chung Yong-jin, Shinsegae’s president, issued a televised apology.

On June 22, Starbucks Korea closed its stores nationwide for early mandatory training on history and social sensitivity.

The police inquiry followed complaints from families of Gwangju crackdown victims, an event reputedly causing around 200 deaths according to official records.

South Korea achieved genuine democracy in 1987 after massive pro-democracy protests forced then-authoritarian president Chun Doo-hwan to accept constitutional revision allowing direct presidential elections.