The Pocheon Songwoo store faces a cutoff on Tuesday, followed by the KINTEX, Goyang Terminal and Namyangju Jinjeop stores on Wednesday, the Paju Unjeong store on Thursday and the Gajwa store on Friday.
The Incheon Songdo store has been warned of a cutoff in November.
Four Busan stores that Homeplus shut in May, including its Centum City outlet, have also received notices, leaving the 35 tenants still trading inside in limbo.
The Centum City store alone owes 252 million won ($190,352) in three months of arrears.
KEPCO's supply terms allow a warning after two months of unpaid bills and an actual cutoff after three, which would shut entire buildings under fire safety rules. The state utility plans to decide whether and when to pull the plug after hearing from tenants.
About 400 employees applied for voluntary retirement within a week of its Oct. 7 launch, prompting Homeplus to close the program eight days early despite offering nothing beyond severance and back pay.
The company said the cuts were unavoidable because "fixed costs are too heavy relative to sales."
Homeplus, owned by private equity firm MBK Partners, has been in court receivership since March 2025, cutting its stores from 126 to 67. Unpaid wages from December through August reached 387.1 billion won, Ministry of Employment and Labor data showed.
AJP Takeaways
- KEPCO has warned it will cut power to six Homeplus stores in the greater Seoul area between Oct. 27 and Oct. 30, 2026, and to the Incheon Songdo store in November, over unpaid electricity bills.
- Four Homeplus stores in Busan that closed in May also face cutoffs. The Centum City store owes 252 million won in three months of arrears, and 35 tenants still operate across the four sites.
- Homeplus has been in court receivership since March 2025 and has cut its stores from 126 to 67. It closed a voluntary retirement program early on Oct. 14 after about 400 applications and is paying wages in installments.
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