South Korean police raided Starbucks' national headquarters on Wednesday, the company confirmed, following a controversial promotional event that triggered widespread protests and boycotts of the coffee chain across the country.

A spokesman for Shinsegae Group, which operates Starbucks Korea, said: "The Seoul police raided the headquarters of Starbucks Korea this morning as part of the ongoing investigation." The investigation focuses on whether executives deliberately trivialized the 1980 Gwangju Massacre.

In May, Starbucks advertised large to-go cups called "tank tumblers," seemingly referencing "Tank Day" — the day the military junta violently suppressed a pro-democracy protest in Gwangju on May 18, 1980, killing at least 165 civilians.

The promotional event also appeared to allude to government statements at the time denying the torture and death of a student protest leader. The backlash was swift, leading to protests and boycotts in what is the company's third-largest market after the United States and China.

President Lee Jae-myung expressed outrage, and Shinsegae Group chairman Chung Yong-jin and Starbucks Korea CEO Son Jung-hyun resigned following a public apology. Starbucks Korea conducted its own internal investigation but admitted it was hampered by, among other things, the inability to compel those involved in planning the promotion to hand over their phones.

Police told the Yonhap agency they are looking for evidence that executives knowingly trivialized the 1980 massacre. This incident has reignited debates about historical justice and corporate accountability in South Korea.

Source: www.dw.com