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Deadline for Homeplus's rehabilitation plan extended by 2 months

Published: 03 Mar. 2026, 17:27 Updated: 03 Mar. 2026, 18:56

The Homeplus logo hangs outside a branch in Seoul on Dec. 29, 2025. [NEWS1]

The deadline for Homeplus’s rehabilitation plan has been extended by two months, just one day before the expiration of its court-supervised restructuring period, averting potential bankruptcy or liquidation proceedings.

The Seoul Bankruptcy Court extended the deadline for approval of Homeplus’s rehabilitation plan until May 4, the court said on Tuesday. The period had been scheduled to end on Wednesday.

Under the Debtor Rehabilitation and Bankruptcy Act, a rehabilitation plan must be approved within one year from the commencement of proceedings. The court may extend the period by up to six months if valid reasons exist.

“It is expected that the 100 billion won [$68.2 million] to be injected first by MBK Partners will be used to resolve urgent debts such as overdue employee wages,” the Seoul Bankruptcy Court said in explaining the extension.

“If the rehabilitation plan is not approved and the proceedings are terminated in the future, MBK will waive its right to claim repayment of the 100 billion won,” the court went on. “Therefore, even if the approval deadline is extended, it will not significantly disadvantage rehabilitation creditors or other interested parties. It is also necessary to confirm the progress of the sale of the Homeplus Express division.”

The hypermarket chain entered rehabilitation proceedings on March 4 of last year and extended the deadline for submitting its rehabilitation plan five times. It submitted a plan based on structural reform on Dec. 29 of last year.

Shopping carts are stored outside a Homeplus branch in Seoul on Dec. 29, 2025. [NEWS1]

The plan calls for the administrator to raise 300 billion won in new funds through debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing and secure repayment and operating funds through measures such as selling the supermarket business division, followed by restructuring and a merger and acquisition process after court approval.

DIP financing refers to a company under rehabilitation raising operating or emergency funds while maintaining existing management control. After reviewing opinions, the court retroactively approved the drafting of the structural reform rehabilitation plan on Jan. 9.

On Monday, the Homeplus administrator submitted an application to the court requesting an extension of the approval period. The largest shareholder, MBK Partners, also submitted a statement requesting the extension.

Michael ByungJu Kim, chairman of MBK Partners, arrives at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho District, southern Seoul, on Jan. 13 for a pretrial detention hearing. [YONHAP]

MBK's DIP measures are widely seen as a tactical move to keep the rehabilitation proceedings alive, even as critics question whether such injections of emergency funds can realistically address Homeplus’s structural issues. Industry observers assessed the DIP as a measure aimed at securing the court’s approval for the extension.

MBK announced that it would inject 100 billion won in emergency operating funds through DIP financing ahead of the court’s decision on an approval extension. Personal assets, including the residence of MBK Partners Chairman Michael ByungJu Kim, were provided as collateral for the DIP. The funds will be used to resolve unpaid employee wages and payments to suppliers.

“If the rehabilitation proceedings are not approved and are terminated despite the extension of the approval period, we will waive our right to claim repayment of the 100 billion won,” MBK said.

The court is expected to discuss the formation of a management normalization task force this week involving the debtor, shareholders and the creditors’ council.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY CHO MUN-GYU [[email protected]]