Joo Joo-yeon, CEO of Homeplus, stated that the company's current operating conditions are such that "only advance payments and cash transactions are possible, making sales growth very limited." He emphasized that for the company to normalize, mergers and acquisitions (M&A) must proceed as planned.
Joo made these remarks on October 12 during a National Assembly audit session, responding to a question from Democratic Party lawmaker Min Byung-deok regarding the implementation of voluntary retirement, which was not agreed upon when the company received 200 billion won in emergency operating funds (DIP).
He explained, "The expectation with the 200 billion won DIP was to normalize operations," adding, "We aimed to increase inventory and sales through credit transactions, but that is currently not possible."
Joo expressed his deep regret, stating, "Ultimately, I believe that the current situation can be resolved well only if M&A proceeds as planned." In response to inquiries about alternatives if M&A and store sales do not go as expected, he replied, "We will do our best."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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