‘Tank Day’ fiasco puts Starbucks Korea in the red for first time in 27 years

Starbucks Korea experienced its first operating loss in 27 years due to a marketing campaign deemed offensive and the cancellation of a popular promotion, according to financial results from Emart subsidiary SCK Company. The company's net sales dropped 6.1% year-over-year to 747.3 billion won, with operating losses rising from 40.3 billion won in the previous quarter to 18.4 billion won in the second quarter, a 58.7 billion won decline.

This downturn came after a May marketing campaign that included the promotion of "Tank Day" tumblers and the cancellation of the Summer e-Frequency program, both perceived as mocking the 1980 Gwangju democratization movement. Despite opening 49 new Starbucks locations last year, SCK Company's cumulative operating profit for the first half of the year was a meager 10.9 billion won, down 85.5% from the same period last year.