[Captured from Theqoo]
[Captured from Theqoo]

Amid growing criticism over indiscriminate data demands that paralyze government operations ahead of the annual national audit season, an official notice sent to Seoul Metropolitan Government departments on behalf of a National Assembly member has spread online and stirred controversy.

According to the online community Theqoo and other platforms, a post titled "An official civil servant notice dated Monday holding non-responding departments responsible" has drawn a flood of criticism from netizens.

The notice, titled "Request for cooperation in submitting materials demanded by a National Assembly member," was sent by the Seoul city finance division to all departments, asking them to compile and submit records of "Starbucks gift-card purchases from January 2024 through June 2026" in a prescribed format. The submission deadline was Wednesday.

Departments were also required to provide detailed information including the basis for each purchase, the budget used and the purchasing entity.

The notice stated that departments failing to submit by the deadline would be treated as having "no relevant records," and that "responsibility for any consequences will fall on the non-responding department." It added that any omissions would require the department concerned to handle the matter directly.

Based on the notice's contents, staff at each Seoul city department had just three days to compile and submit roughly two and a half years' worth of Starbucks gift-card purchase records along with explanations for each.

The lawmaker behind the request is Park Jeong-hyeon of the Democratic Party of Korea.

Netizens who saw the notice directed sharp criticism at the lawmaker, with comments including: "Why single out Starbucks? Why isn't anyone doing a full investigation into the gift cards handed out after the worker died at the SPC Group factory?"; "Starbucks again — I'm sick of it"; "Why is the Jang Yun-gi case so quiet?"; "Give it a rest"; "This is really excessive — two-plus years of records in one day?"; and "What's so important about this that it's still causing a fuss?"

One netizen said, "The Starbucks 'Tank Day' controversy only broke in May 2026 — doesn't anyone know that before the controversy, Starbucks Americano gift cards were the go-to choice for corporate and government events?"

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's Public Crime Investigation Unit raided Starbucks Korea's headquarters in Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, on suspicion that the company's May 18 "Tank Day" promotion insulted veterans of the May 18 pro-democracy movement, including martyr Park Jong-cheol.

It was the first raid carried out 76 days after the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency Metropolitan Investigation Unit took over the case and launched its investigation.

Earlier, veterans of the May 18 pro-democracy movement and the civic group People's Livelihood Countermeasures Committee filed criminal complaints in May against Chung Yong-jin, chairman of Shinsegae, and others on charges including violation of the Special Act on the May 18 Pro-Democracy Movement, insult and defamation.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency had initially applied to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office on June 8 for a search and seizure warrant targeting Starbucks, but prosecutors returned the application on June 12 with instructions to pursue voluntary investigative measures first.


jshan@heraldcorp.com