The chief executive officer of Shinyoung Securities reacted that it is hard to understand why Homeplus applied for corporate rehabilitation procedures immediately after a credit rating downgrade. Shinyoung Securities is the sole underwriter of the asset-backed securities (ABSTB) issued by Homeplus to raise funds for corporate purchasing.
Kim Jeong-ho, chief executive officer of Shinyoung Securities, attended a meeting of the National Assembly's Political Affairs Committee in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 18th, and responded to a query from Democratic Party lawmaker Kang Hoon-sik, asking, "Is there any case of corporations that applied for corporate rehabilitation procedures a day after a downgrade from A3 to A3- without preparing a self-rescue plan?" by saying, "As far as I know, there isn’t."
In response to a question about whether it would be unreasonable to judge that the chief executive officer Kim assumed Homeplus had suddenly applied for a corporate rehabilitation procedure to evade responsibility, he replied, "I’m not the one to judge, but people in the capital market might make that judgment."
Kim noted, "A3 is also an investment-grade rating, and BBB is an investment-grade rating," and added, "If someone thinks a corporation with such a credit rating can suddenly apply for corporate rehabilitation procedures, who would invest?"
Shinyoung Securities oversaw the issuance of ABSTB based on Homeplus's credit card receivables as underlying assets and sold them to investors and other securities firms. Currently, Shinyoung Securities is considering a criminal complaint against Homeplus. This is because MBK Partners, the largest shareholder of Homeplus, reportedly proceeded with the ABSTB issuance despite knowing the potential for a downgrade in Homeplus's credit rating.