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Photo courtesy of Yonhap News |
[Alpha Biz= Paul Lee] SEOUL, June 1, 2026 — Starbucks Korea has received relatively low internal ratings from its employees, with management emerging as the weakest area, according to an analysis by workplace platform Blind.
The survey, based on 568 employee reviews collected between January 2025 and May 2026, showed an overall rating of 2.74 out of 5, indicating broadly negative workplace sentiment.
Among five evaluation categories, management scored the lowest at 1.81, significantly below other areas. Compensation and benefits received the highest score at 2.76, followed by corporate culture (2.58), career development (2.52), and work-life balance (2.49).
Management ratings remained in the 1-point range for most of the survey period, briefly reaching 2.00 in February before falling back to the high-1 range, highlighting persistent dissatisfaction with leadership.
Despite ranking highest, compensation and benefits also remained in the mid-2 range, suggesting that overall employee perception of the company remains weak across categories.
A Blind official said the results indicate that employees view management decision-making and communication as more urgent areas for improvement than compensation or work-life balance.
Interest in Starbucks-related discussions has also surged among Korean office workers. Search activity for Starbucks on Blind rose sharply from 2,393 searches in April to 91,080 in May, while the number of users searching increased from 944 to 46,870.
Since May, the most frequently associated keyword has been “boycott,” with 1,038 mentions, followed by terms such as “government,” Chung Yong-jin, “partner,” and “store.”
The findings suggest growing scrutiny of Starbucks Korea’s workplace environment and management practices amid rising public attention.
Alphabiz Reporter Paul Lee(hoondork1977@alphabiz.co.kr)
