Starbucks Korea wins top shared-growth award

Starbucks Korea CEO Son jung-hyun (right) and Minister of Small, Medium-sized Enterprises and Startups Han Seong-sook (center) pose for a photo during the 2025 Shared Growth Week Ceremony at the KBIZ Hall in Seoul on Tuesday. (Starbucks Korea)

Starbucks Korea said Tuesday it has received the Prime Minister’s Commendation at the 2025 Shared Growth Week Ceremony, recognizing its programs that support small merchants, local farms and community profit-sharing.

The ceremony, held at KBIZ Hall in Seoul, was hosted by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Korea Commission for Corporate Partnership to highlight collaboration between large companies and smaller enterprises.

Starbucks was cited for its three-pillar “win-win” model: supporting small businesses, revitalizing local agriculture and returning profits to communities.

Since signing a landmark partnership with the National Cafe Owners Cooperative in 2022, the first of its kind in the coffee industry, the company has funded renovations for 77 small cafes with flood damage or aging facilities.

In agriculture, Starbucks has built what it calls a "resource-circulation model." Since 2015, it has donated 5,540 metric tons of eco-friendly coffee-ground compost to farms in Boseong and Goheung in South Jeolla Province, Hadong in South Gyeongsang Province, and on Jeju Island, with produce grown using the compost returning to Starbucks stores as ingredients.

Starbucks Korea also operates Community Stores, where a portion of sales is reinvested locally. Contributions to the fund have reached 6 billion won ($4.1 million) to date.

“We will continue strengthening cooperation with local communities and building a sustainable, mutually beneficial model,” a Starbucks Korea official said.