Homeplus Faces Critical Decision on Restructuring Amid Financial Struggles

Homeplus, currently undergoing corporate rehabilitation, faces a pivotal decision on July 3 regarding its future.

According to legal sources, the Seoul Bankruptcy Court's Fourth Division will determine whether to extend the deadline for Homeplus's restructuring plan or to terminate the rehabilitation process.

The court had previously extended the deadline from March 4 to May 4, and now to July 3. Typically, the court must hold a meeting of creditors to review and vote on the restructuring plan by this date. This meeting involves stakeholders such as the administrator, creditors, secured creditors, and shareholders.

However, Homeplus submitted a revised restructuring plan on June 30, and the court has yet to schedule the meeting due to the ongoing review of the plan. The revised plan reportedly includes a restructuring of its 126 hypermarkets into 67 core stores, with expectations of generating an operating profit of around 80 billion won once supply and operations normalize.

If the court deems further review necessary, it may extend the deadline again. Conversely, if the court believes the likelihood of executing the restructuring plan is low, it may terminate the rehabilitation process. A significant factor is the lack of a concrete plan for securing the minimum required funding of 200 billion won.

Meanwhile, Homeplus's partners submitted a petition to the court on July 1, urging it to protect the company. They expressed concerns that if Homeplus goes bankrupt, many small suppliers could lose their sales channels and face collapse as well.