SEOUL, May 31 (Korea Bizwire) – The amount of prepaid charges for use at coffee shops has exceeded 270 billion won (US$218 million), a ruling party lawmaker said Monday, citing data from the Fair Trade Commission.
The amount of prepaid charges currently remaining at 10 coffee and dessert cafe franchises stood at 271.7 billion won for the first quarter of this year, according to data released by Rep. Yun Chang-hyun of the ruling People Power Party.
Starbucks Korea’s remaining prepaid charges were estimated based on 2021 records since the company has not submitted relevant reports for the first quarter.
Starbucks holds the largest amount of remaining prepaid charges at 250.3 billion won, accounting for 92.1 percent of all prepaid charges.
None of the 10 cafe franchises provided the option of transferring the remaining prepaid charges to another person.
Six coffee franchises, including Starbucks, are subscribed to an insurance plan that ensures that the remaining prepaid charges are returned to the customer in case of bankruptcy or financial crisis.
Image Credit: Starbucks Korea / Yonhap / photonews@koreabizwire.com
