On July 14, the entrance to the Homeplus store in Gangdong was eerily quiet. Normally bustling with customers shopping and employees scanning items at the checkout, the entrance was blocked by dozens of shopping carts and a notice announcing a "temporary closure."
On the second day of Homeplus's temporary closure across all its stores, customers continued to arrive unaware of the shutdown. In just over a minute, about ten customers approached the entrance only to turn back after reading the notice. A housewife who arrived at the store at 10 a.m. said, "I didn’t expect the Gangdong store to close since it was still operating when some stores shut down two months ago," expressing her surprise.
The confusion caused by the sudden closure affected not only customers but also employees. Reports indicate that staff were not properly informed about the shutdown until just before their shifts. One employee stated, "We were unable to enter the store from 7 a.m. the previous day, and the notice about the temporary closure was posted on the company bulletin board around 9 a.m. Only a few staff members remained while others packed up and left." The employee added, "There has been no separate notice regarding future work schedules, so we are checking with each other about our shifts."
The closure of the store also affected the cultural center, where students flocked to request refunds. Before 10 a.m., a line formed at the cultural center's information desk as students filled out cancellation forms. Amid the incessant ringing of phones, the staff was busy explaining refund policies to the students.
One customer enrolled in a children's art class said, "I only received a text saying that the summer semester classes were temporarily suspended," adding, "I came in person to request a refund since there’s no set period for the suspension."
On July 13, Homeplus announced the temporary closure of 67 large stores due to a lack of operating funds. The company plans to decide whether to resume operations after monitoring its financial situation and the court's ruling on the deadline for an immediate appeal against the decision to terminate its rehabilitation process, which is set for July 20. However, there is growing concern in the industry that the company may be heading toward bankruptcy, as major shareholder MBK Partners and the largest creditor, Meritz Financial Group, have yet to reach an agreement on securing 200 billion won in operating funds.
Some speculate that the court may expedite the bankruptcy process before the appeal period ends, a procedure known as "related bankruptcy," which occurs when the court determines that there is no possibility of rehabilitation and seeks to protect public creditors.
Ryu Geun-rim, secretary of the Homeplus General Labor Union, stated, "Currently, only 8 to 10 staff members remain at each store for customer service and safety management," adding, "In some regional stores in Gangwon, Daegu, and Jeonnam, there are even warnings of power outages after July 20." He further noted, "The company has only paid 40% of June salaries and has not announced when the remaining salaries and severance payments will be made," urging the company to take responsible action.
Meanwhile, the Homeplus union plans to hold protests in front of Meritz Financial in Yeouido on July 15 and in front of MBK Partners in Gwanghwamun on July 16. A meeting scheduled for the afternoon of July 14 with Kim Kwang-il, vice chairman of MBK Partners, at the Homeplus headquarters in Gangseo was canceled after MBK notified the union of a postponement. The union intended to demand the urgent provision of 200 billion won in operating funds and an immediate appeal against the decision to terminate the rehabilitation process during the meeting.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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