Police on Wednesday conducted a search and seizure at Starbucks Korea's headquarters as part of an investigation into the company's controversial "Tank Day" promotion.
The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency executed a search warrant at the company's headquarters in Gangnam, southern Seoul, at 8:50 a.m. Wednesday, roughly two months after launching the investigation following a complaint filed by a civic group.
The warrant was issued in connection with a suspected insult offense. Investigators sought mobile phones, internal messaging records and planning documents. Police plan to analyze the evidence to determine whether the promotion was intentional and the extent of each employee's involvement.
The controversy erupted on May 18, when Starbucks Korea launched a "Tank Day" promotion using phrases that critics argued mocked or distorted the historical significance of the Gwangju Democratic Uprising of May 18, 1980.
Shinsegae Group dismissed then-Starbucks Korea CEO Son Jeong-hyun and another executive on the day the controversy emerged. Chairman Chung Yong-jin issued a public apology and the group launched an internal audit into the incident.
The internal audit, however, was limited. Three of the five employees involved in planning the promotion reportedly refused to surrender their mobile phones. Internal messenger records from the campaign's initial planning stage could not be recovered because they had exceeded the company's data retention period.
Police initially sought a search warrant on June 8, arguing that compulsory investigative measures were necessary to establish how the promotion was planned.
Prosecutors, however, returned the warrant application, saying Starbucks Korea was cooperating with the investigation and that voluntary investigative measures should be pursued first.
Police and prosecutors also reportedly disagreed over applicable charges. Police initially applied for a warrant on suspicion of violations of the Special Act on the May 18 Democratization Movement, insult and defamation. Prosecutors, however, concluded that only the insult allegation could be supported. The crime applies to public insults that damage the image of the complainant.
The investigation has drawn allegations of political pressure, with President Lee Jae Myung having publicly criticized the promotion twice, including at a Cabinet meeting. The remarks were followed by moves by government agencies and local authorities to exclude Starbucks products from official events.
Investigators have so far questioned company officials, including Shinsegae Group's head of audit, about how the promotion was planned, whether senior executives were involved and how the campaign was reported to Chung.
seungku99@heraldcorp.com
