Police raid Starbucks Korea’s headquarters in Seoul over ‘Tank Day’ event

South Korean police searched Starbucks Korea’s headquarters in Seoul on Wednesday, Yonhap News reported, as part of an investigation into a marketing campaign that has become one of the country’s biggest recent corporate public-relations crises.

The raid by the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency came months after the coffee chain’s “Tank Day” promotion was accused of insulting victims of South Korea’s democracy movement, Yonhap reported, citing the police. Civic groups say the campaign mocked the victims of the highly sensitive May 18, 1980, Gwangju uprising in what they described as a misguided attempt to sell beverage tumblers.

The controversy erupted in May, when Starbucks Korea promoted discounts on its Tank tumbler collection, with civic groups saying the language in the marketing push evoked military tanks used to suppress pro-democracy demonstrators. Starbucks withdrew the promotion within hours, and top executives apologized, while police launched an investigation, Yonhap reported at the time.

Calls to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency went unanswered Wednesday. Shinsegae Group, which owns a controlling stake in Starbucks Korea, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The incident sparked quick backlash and snowballed beyond social media, exposing the risks for Starbucks’ largest market outside of the U.S. and China. It also underscored the delicate political and cultural balance consumer brands face in one of Asia’s most historically sensitive markets.

Starbucks Korea dismissed Chief Executive Officer Son Jung-hyun in response, while Shinsegae Chairman Chung Yong-jin issued multiple public apologies. South Korean President Lee Jae Myung also weighed into the debate and condemned the promotion.

The controversy also prompted Starbucks Corp. to publicly apologize despite having ceded operational control of the South Korean business to Shinsegae several years ago.

Starbucks Korea has sought to rebuild trust through an unusually sweeping response. It shut all of its more than 2,000 stores early for mandatory history and social-sensitivity training, the first nationwide early closure since the chain entered South Korea in 1999. Shinsegae executives, including Chung, also took part in separate education sessions.

Shinsegae’s supermarket chain E-Mart owns a 67.5% stake in Starbucks Korea, with the remainder owned by Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund.