KB News Desk
Full-capacity store operations look unfeasible amid supply, staff shortages
Homeplus pulled back from the edge of bankruptcy on Thursday by securing 200 billion won ($135 million) in emergency financing from Meritz Financial Group, but the retailer still faces a steep climb toward normal operations and long-term survival.
Homeplus plans to appeal the court’s termination decision by its July 20 deadline. If accepted, rehabilitation would extend to Sept. 4, while Homeplus must still win creditor and court approval for a revised plan or risk another termination and bankruptcy.
“With the 200 billion won secured, Homeplus will pursue an immediate appeal to continue rehabilitation, finish its remaining restructuring work, and sell off its headquarters, hypermarket and online units to complete the process successfully,” the company said in a statement.
Still, the financing is widely viewed as a mere starting point.
Homeplus carries roughly 930 billion won in common benefit claims, priority debts from unpaid supplier invoices since rehabilitation began. This leaves little room for new funds to reach actual operational recovery, industry observers say.
“Injecting 200 billion won is like pouring water into a bottomless jar,” one industry official said.
Reopening the 67 stores that have been closed since Monday hinges on more than funding. Manufacturers halted shipments over unpaid bills months ago, leaving shelves stocked mostly with private-label goods, and Homeplus says it lacks enough staff to reopen them at all.
“Normalizing operations won’t be easy even if we deploy every remaining worker,” a Homeplus general labor union official said, adding that the priority is redeploying existing staff rather than making further cuts.
Restoring the supply chain will also take time, as Homeplus may need to renegotiate terms with roughly 4,600 suppliers spanning food, household goods, logistics and facility management. A survey by the Korea Federation of SMEs found Homeplus’ small suppliers were owed an average of 774 million won each, with 98 percent waiting more than 60 days for payment.
“It will physically take time before supply and operations return to normal,” a Homeplus official said.
Adding to the strain, Homeplus owed employees roughly 33 billion won in delinquent pay as of June, while its rehabilitation plan classifies 64.9 billion won in unpaid severance as a priority claim.
Meanwhile, MBK is expected to pursue mergers and acquisitions for Homeplus’ remaining hypermarket and online units, though a prior sale attempt collapsed amid a cold market reception.
With hypermarkets facing industrywide headwinds, industry officials say few buyers have the capital and appetite for the investment required, leaving Chinese firms as roughly the only plausible candidates.
Under its previously submitted rehabilitation plan, Homeplus plans to sell 1.64 trillion won in assets and raise another 1.14 trillion won by liquidating non-core properties, with proceeds first repaying Meritz debt this year and next. Another 201.1 billion won in pre-rehabilitation commercial claims is expected to be repaid in installments from 2032 to 2036.
