Starbucks Korea freezes summer event as heat over Tank Day lingers

Starbucks Korea has put its signature summer promotion on hold and is instead handing out 15 million free drink coupons, an unusual move that underscores how far the chain's business has slipped since its Tank Day marketing controversy in May.

The damage is visible in the company's numbers. Starbucks app monthly active users fell to about 7.06 million in June, down roughly 1.13 million from May, according to IGAWorks' Mobile Index. Estimated credit and debit card spending at Starbucks was slightly above 100 billion won ($66.5 million) in June, down about 20.8 billion won from May and 33.9 billion won from April.

SCK Company, which operates Starbucks in Korea, is expected to post an operating loss of 22.9 billion won in the second quarter, swinging to a deficit from a year earlier on weak May and June sales, said Korea Investment & Securities analyst Kim Myung-joo.

The weakness is now reaching parent company Emart's books: the brokerage cut its target price for the retailer to 115,000 won from 135,000 won on Friday, citing Starbucks and the group's online business.

Emart's second-quarter operating profit is forecast at 11.7 billion won, down 18.4 percent from a year earlier and at about 74 percent of the market consensus.

The retreat follows the Tank Day episode, in which Starbucks promoted tumblers using language evoking military incidents of military oppression on the anniversary of the May 18 Democratization Movement. The backlash cost the company's chief executive his job and drew a public apology from Shinsegae Group Chairman Chung Yong-jin.

The company issued two summer coupons to all Starbucks Rewards members, valid from Wednesday through Aug. 14, providing one free handcrafted beverage and a 30 percent discount on food products. Members who sign up by July 31 will also receive the coupons. Starbucks has offered buy-one-get-one and size-upgrade coupons before, but giving away drinks with no purchase required is highly unusual.

Absent this year is the Summer e-Frequency, the promotion that has defined Starbucks summers in Korea. Customers who bought 17 beverages received limited-edition goods, driving the crowds and early-morning queues that became a seasonal fixture. Starbucks said the event is undecided, though the window for it, typically May through July, has effectively closed.

At stake is more than beverage sales. Customer balances preloaded onto Starbucks cards stood at 427.5 billion won at the end of 2025, a sum rivaling deposits at a small regional bank, and a prolonged exodus would erode it. Competitors, meanwhile, are filling the gap with their own summer goods and promotions.

BY KIM MIN-YOUNG [[email protected]]