Starbucks Korea distributed 31.96M coupons with low usage

“‘5·18 탱크데이’ 논란 이후 스타벅스 앱을 지워서 무료쿠폰이 들어온 걸 처음에는 몰랐어요. 친구가 쿠폰을 쓸 거냐고 물어서 알았는데, 되도록 스타벅스에 가지 않기로 마음 먹어서 쿠폰을 쓰지 않았어요.” hani.co.kr reported on Oct. 4 that Starbucks Korea distributed approximately 31.96 million free beverage and food discount coupons to roughly 15.98 million members and new registrants between July 8 and Aug. 14 following a marketing backlash in May, but overall usage rates remained low at 19.6%.

Low Coupon Utilization After the May Controversy

Data provided to National Assembly Political Affairs Committee member Han Chang-min of the Social Democratic Party show that the company issued two coupon types per account—a free beverage coupon and a 30% food discount coupon—totaling about 31.96 million coupons, hani.co.kr reported. Out of that total issuance, only about 6.26 million coupons were actually used by consumers, translating to an overall issuance-to-usage rate of 19.6%.

While individual usage figures for the beverage and food discount coupons were not tracked separately, hani.co.kr noted that even if all 6.26 million redeemed coupons were assumed to be free drinks, usage of the 15.98 million free beverage coupons capped at a maximum of 39.2%. The free beverage coupon allowed recipients to claim an Americano, Caffe Latte, or Vanilla Latte, marking the first time Starbucks Korea issued unconditional free drink vouchers to its entire membership base.

Mass Prepayment Refunds Totaling 76.0 Billion Won

Straight News and Herald Corporation reported that Starbucks refunded approximately 76 billion won in prepaid card balances over a two-week window from June 1 to June 14, following heavy consumer criticism over the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement promotional controversy. According to data submitted to National Assembly Political Affairs Committee member Kim Hyung-yeon of the Rebuilding Korea Party, the refund volume covered 2.56 million claims, averaging about 30,000 won per claim, and represented 17.8% of the company’s total prepaid reserves of 427.6 billion won recorded at the end of the previous year.

News1 reported that normal terms at Starbucks required users to spend at least 60% of a prepaid card’s final charged balance before requesting a refund of the remainder, a rule that drew public anger during the boycott because consumers felt forced to spend additional money to withdraw their funds. During the June promotional window, Starbucks temporarily waived this 60% usage threshold to allow full balance refunds.

Customer Backlash Triggers Second-Quarter Operating Losses

The customer backlash directly impacted corporate financials, with News1 and Straight News reporting that second-quarter sales fell to 747.3 billion won—down 48.5 billion won or 6.1% compared to the same period a year earlier. Operating profit swung from a profit of 40.3 billion won in the second quarter of last year to an operating loss of 18.4 billion won, marking a year-on-year drop of 58.7 billion won.

News1 reported that Starbucks plans to revise its prepaid card refund terms. Under the planned revisions submitted to lawmaker Kim Hyung-yeon’s office, customers who have used less than 60% of their final balance will be permitted to request a refund after one year from the final charge date, recovering 95% of the remaining balance for amounts exceeding 50,000 won and 90% for amounts under 50,000 won, while the traditional refund rules will continue to apply for balances where 60% or more has already been spent.

Parliamentary Scrutiny Over Consumer Protection and Regulatory Gaps

Hani.co.kr reported that Han Chang-min stated short-term promotional measures are insufficient for restoring consumer trust and pointed out structural regulatory gaps that prevent independent verification of whether self-issued prepaid operators properly execute refund remedies when problems arise.

Herald Corporation reported that Kim Hyung-yeon suggested the Fair Trade Commission should examine mandate rules requiring full balance refunds whenever a business bears fault for a dispute. Lawmakers announced plans to closely examine these management blind spots and consumer protection frameworks during the ongoing parliamentary audit.

2주간 환불된 760억원은 그만큼 많은 국민이 이번 사안에 공분했다는 것을 보여주는 숫자다.

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