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South Korea·Human Rights·Democracy

Starbucks Korea headquarters raided over campaign linked to Gwangju massacre anniversary

Friday, 7 August 2026, 06:22 · 1 min read

South Korean police have raided the Seoul headquarters of Starbucks Korea and searched the homes of company executives in connection with a marketing campaign widely condemned for trivialising the country's pro-democracy movement. The chain sparked public fury by branding stainless-steel tumblers "SS Tank" and designating 18 May — the anniversary of the 1980 Gwangju uprising (a pivotal moment in which South Korea's military-backed government killed around 200 pro-democracy demonstrators) — as "Tank Day". The campaign also used a slogan associated with the cover-up of a student activist's death by torture in 1987, prompting parent company Shinsegae Group to scrap the promotion, fire the chief executive, and close all Korean stores for a mandatory history training day; police launched their formal investigation following complaints from victims' relatives.

Sources
The GuardianStarbucks Korea raided by police after ‘Tank Day’ campaign sparks public outrage ↗︎
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