This article was displayed on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove site on March 6, 2025, at 4:40 p.m.
As the corporate rehabilitation process begins for Homeplus, the second largest hypermarket in South Korea, fund management companies holding Homeplus stores as underlying assets are also facing difficulties. If they cannot receive rent from Homeplus immediately, it will be difficult to repay loan interest and distribute dividends, making losses for individual investors in the publicly offered fund likely to materialize.
According to investment banking (IB) industry sources on the 6th, IGIS Asset Management, YuKyung PSG Asset Management, and FL Asset Management are managing Homeplus funds. The structure generates revenue by purchasing Homeplus stores with fund money and then leasing them back to Homeplus. The management companies receive rent from Homeplus, repay the principal and interest to the major creditors, and pay dividends to individual investors in the publicly offered fund.
IGIS Asset Management holds the Jeonju Hyoja store through publicly offered fund (No. 126) and the Yeongdeungpo in Seoul, Geumcheon in Seoul, Dong Suwon, and Busan Centum City through private fund (No. 13). IGIS Asset Management acquired the Jeonju Hyoja store as an underlying asset by injecting 187.7 billion won through a publicly offered fund in 2017, of which the amount for general investors was 66.7 billion won.
YuKyung PSG Asset Management has three stores (Ulsan store, Gumi Gwangpyeong store, Siheung store) through publicly offered fund (No. 3), while FL Asset Management has four stores (Gimhae, Gimpo, Gajwa, Buk Suwon) through private fund. General investors have invested an amount totaling 107.3 billion won in YuKyung PSG Asset Management's publicly offered fund. The Homeplus real estate publicly offered fund held by individual investors is valued at 174 billion won.
As Homeplus enters the corporate rehabilitation process, there may also be issues with receiving rent. Typically, rent incurred after the initiation of corporate rehabilitation procedures is classified as a public creditor with priority repayment rights. However, there is a high possibility that opinions may diverge between Homeplus and the management companies regarding the timing of rent generation. For example, if Homeplus claims that rent is generated as soon as the lease agreement is signed, it may be considered not as a public creditor but as a rehabilitation creditor, potentially delaying rent payments.
A lawyer from a major law firm that primarily handles corporate rehabilitation cases noted, "It is not uncommon for corporations under court management to delay rent payments, depleting tenant deposits and ultimately facing debt restructuring or even damage compensation lawsuits," adding, "While rent is classified as a public creditor after the initiation of rehabilitation procedures, Homeplus is already accounting rent as a lease liability, so it could be classified as a rehabilitation creditor rather than a public creditor."
Management companies reportedly sent official documents related to rent after confirming the fact that Homeplus applied for corporate rehabilitation. An industry insider said, "Homeplus provided only a general response without a definite answer regarding rent payments. Typically, rent should be classified as a public creditor, but we cannot assure 100% receipt of rent, leading to a difficult situation."
Some management companies reviewed the possibility of collecting rent through their legal teams. An industry insider explained, "When considering whether rent payments are prepayments or postpayments and the cycle of payments—monthly, quarterly, semi-annually, or annually—it was indicated that some rents could be classified as rehabilitation creditors rather than public creditors, based on judgments that they were unpaid prior to the initiation of corporate rehabilitation procedures."
For now, the management companies plan to wait and see if the rent for this month will be paid before taking further action. The rent payment dates for the Jeonju Hyoja store held through the publicly offered fund and the four stores owned through the No. 13 fund are tomorrow (7th) and next week, respectively.
A source from the management company stated, "MBK Partners said Homeplus is operating normally, and I believe that payment of business site rents is also included in normal operations, so we are waiting." They added, "If rent payments are delayed, it could also delay the distribution payments to individual investors."
Another source from a Homeplus fund management company commented, "Rent must come in before the fund's loan interest payment date to align with the funding management plan." They said, "If Homeplus postpones rent payments, we will charge arrears interest to protect the beneficiaries." They emphasized, "Rent reduction is absolutely impossible" and stated, "We are currently preparing to file a damage compensation lawsuit by hiring a lawyer."