[비즈한국] The Seoul Rehabilitation Court has discontinued the corporate rehabilitation procedure for Homeplus. The court determined that there was no feasibility for the plan to be carried out as Homeplus failed to secure the 200 billion won in operating funds necessary to implement its rehabilitation plan. While Homeplus can file an immediate appeal within 14 days, it must devise a plan to raise the operating funds to resume the rehabilitation process. Given that securing 200 billion won in such a short period is difficult, the focus is shifting toward the possibility of bankruptcy.
Homeplus Rehabilitation Procedure Discontinued… Bankruptcy Possibility Increases
The Seoul Rehabilitation Court has decided to discontinue the corporate rehabilitation procedure for Homeplus. This follows the court's judgment that the revised rehabilitation plan submitted by Homeplus had no chance of being carried out. This comes one year and four months after the company filed for rehabilitation in March of last year.
Initially, Homeplus had prepared a 'structural innovation-type rehabilitation plan' that included closing low-profit stores, transferring operations, and mergers and acquisitions (M&A), and had been seeking court approval. The court had twice extended the deadline for passing the rehabilitation plan to allow time for fundraising, and had previously ordered the submission of a concrete operating fund procurement plan by June 30.
Ultimately, the court determined that Homeplus had failed to secure the minimum of approximately 200 billion won in operating funds required to implement the plan. The court stated, "Since the rehabilitation plan is not feasible, the rehabilitation procedure is discontinued without referring it to the deliberation and resolution of the stakeholders' meeting."
Homeplus can file an immediate appeal against this decision within 14 days. However, as the core reason for this decision is a lack of operating funds, the possibility of resuming the rehabilitation process depends on securing the necessary funds within the appeal period. Industry observers believe it will not be easy for Homeplus to raise approximately 200 billion won in operating funds within two weeks. If the fundraising fails, the likelihood of Homeplus entering bankruptcy proceedings increases.
Rehabilitation Failure Threatens Livelihoods of Employees and Partners
Homeplus was launched in 1997 under the distribution division of Samsung C&T. It entered the hypermarket business by opening its first store in Chilseong-dong, Daegu, and in 1999, it transitioned into a joint venture after Samsung C&T transferred its stake and management rights to the British retail group Tesco. Later, it expanded its footprint by acquiring 33 Homever (formerly Carrefour) stores in 2008, and after the divestment of Samsung's stake in 2011, it changed its name to 'Homeplus Co., Ltd.' and became a 100% subsidiary of Tesco.
The crisis for Homeplus, which had maintained a growth trend until the early 2010s, began in earnest in 2015. As Tesco headquarters faced financial difficulties, MBK Partners, the largest private equity firm in Korea, became the new owner of Homeplus. Since then, as the hypermarket market growth slowed and shopping culture reorganized around online platforms, Homeplus's performance deteriorated rapidly.
MBK Partners had been securing liquidity through sale-and-leaseback arrangements—selling stores and then leasing them back—but this actually increased the company's financial burden. Ultimately, unable to withstand the decline in profitability, Homeplus filed for corporate rehabilitation in March 2025. To maintain the rehabilitation process, Homeplus requested 200 billion won in financial support from its largest creditor, Meritz Financial, but failed to secure the final funding. With no plan for operating funds, the rehabilitation process has reached the stage of discontinuation.
If bankruptcy proceedings become reality, the biggest blow is expected to be dealt to employees, partner companies, and store tenants. Homeplus employees, partners, and tenants appealed for government-level assistance on the People's Petition portal last month, pleading, "Please prevent the bankruptcy at all costs."
Homeplus partners expressed concern, stating, "47% of the 4,603 partners providing goods and services to Homeplus rely on Homeplus for more than half of their revenue. If Homeplus goes bankrupt, countless small and medium-sized partners will lose their sales channels and collapse, and tens of thousands of employees will lose their jobs."
The Homeplus labor union has pointed out that a company bankruptcy could lead to an astronomical social burden. As of the end of last month, Homeplus had approximately 12,000 employees. A representative from the Mart Workers Union Homeplus Branch stated, "We are currently holding internal discussions regarding the decision to discontinue the rehabilitation procedure."
Meanwhile, Homeplus has once again appealed to Meritz Financial Group for funding to resume the rehabilitation process. Homeplus stated, "The court said that if we raise 200 billion won in operating funds and file an immediate appeal within two weeks, reconsideration—or the resumption of the rehabilitation procedure—is possible," adding, "However, it is regrettable that despite the entreaties of numerous stakeholders over the past few weeks, our largest creditor, Meritz Financial Group, has refused financial support on the grounds that the 100 billion won joint guarantee provided by MBK Partners and partner Kim Byung-ju is insufficient."
They added, "We implore our largest creditor, Meritz Financial Group, to provide a 200 billion won operating fund loan," and continued, "We will actively cooperate with the upcoming legal procedures and strive to minimize damages to creditors, employees, and other stakeholders."