KB News DeskCourt says new financing during a 14-day appeal window could revive rehabilitation talks
The Seoul Bankruptcy Court terminated Homeplus’s rehabilitation proceedings Friday, pushing the retailer closer to liquidation and leaving it a narrow 14-day window to secure fresh funding and appeal the ruling.
The court found that Homeplus’s revised rehabilitation plan, submitted Tuesday and calling for the closure of unprofitable stores, business transfers, and mergers and acquisitions, lacked a realistic prospect of success.
“At least 200 billion won in operating funds is needed to continue running the company and execute the rehabilitation plan, but those funds have not been raised to date,” the court said.
Homeplus failed to provide any “specific and realistic” evidence to support its plan to raise additional funding, the court added.
Homeplus’s turnaround effort was undercut by a standoff over debtor-in-possession financing with its largest creditor, Meritz Financial Group. The retailer sought 200 billion won in emergency funding, but Meritz approved only half that sum and pushed controlling shareholder MBK Partners to put in additional capital.
Judges also said the company’s position had deteriorated even after it sold its Homeplus Express business.
“Although the Homeplus Express division was successfully sold, mergers and acquisitions for the remaining operations were not completed,” the court said, noting that revenue kept falling as wages, supplier invoices and tax obligations piled up.
Homeplus sold its supermarket arm to NS Shopping earlier this year, raising 120.6 billion won ($78 million), not nearly enough to stabilize the larger hypermarket business.
The court said the injunction shielding Homeplus from asset seizures and other enforcement actions stays in place until the termination order becomes final.
Homeplus has 14 days to appeal, leaving a slim chance for rehabilitation to resume.
“If Homeplus secures financing and files an immediate appeal within the prescribed period, a legitimate basis for appeal may be recognized,” the court said, adding that a successful appeal could rescind the termination order and lead to a creditors’ meeting on the rehabilitation plan before the case moves to a higher court.
The fallout could be wide-reaching for Homeplus’s workforce, suppliers and creditors alike.
Homeplus employs about 12,000 workers directly and supports roughly 1,000 more in related jobs. More than 150 small suppliers are still owed payments, with unpaid receivables averaging 774 million won per company. Holders of more than 400 billion won in commercial paper also face long odds of recovery given the retailer’s thin cash position.
Homeplus entered rehabilitation in March 2025 and submitted a structural innovation plan later that year. Although the proceedings could legally have continued until September, the court opted to end the process after granting two extensions for asset sales and financing talks.
