Starbucks Korea swings to Q2 operating loss after marketing backlash

E-Mart

13/08/2026 06:43

SEOUL, Aug 13 (Reuters) - The operator of Starbucks Korea posted an operating loss in the second quarter as sales fell after backlash over a marketing campaign that evoked a brutal 1980 military crackdown on pro-democracy protesters, and the suspension of its flagship summer promotion.
 
Here are some details:
Starbucks Korea's operator SCK Company swung to an 18.4 billion won ($13.4 million) operating loss in the second quarter from an operating profit of 40.3 billion won a year earlier and 29.3 billion won in the preceding quarter.
E-Mart 139480.KS, the parent of SCK, said in an earnings announcement on Thursday that SCK did not hold its usual summer promotional campaign in June.
In May, Starbucks Korea halted and apologised for its May 18 "Tank Day" tumbler campaign after it drew criticism for evoking the 1980 Gwangju pro-democracy uprising. 
Parent Shinsegae Group dismissed the head of Starbucks Korea, while the group later said sales had dropped "very significantly" and held historical awareness and social sensitivity training for staff.
On Thursday, E-Mart did not cite the controversy or subsequent boycott calls as a direct reason for the quarterly decline. 

 (Reporting by Joyce Lee
Editing by Ed Davies)
 ((joyce.lee@tr.com;))