Kim Kwang-il, vice chairman of MBK Partners and co-CEO of Homeplus, said on the 18th regarding concerns over the losses of personal investors in securitization, "I was unaware of the portion resold to individuals."
During a meeting of the National Assembly's Political Affairs Committee held on the same day, Kim faced a question about whether he truly did not know that securities firms such as Shinyoung Securities had resold portions to individuals through retail channels, and he responded, "Shinyoung Securities did not act as an agent; they took over the asset-backed securities flow of purchase debts."
Homeplus's financial bonds are estimated to total 600 billion won, consisting of commercial paper (CP) and electronic short-term bonds worth 188 billion won, as well as asset-backed securities (ABSTB) worth 400 billion won based on credit card receivables. It is known that about half of this amount was sold to individual investors through securities firms such as Shinyoung Securities.
In response to questions about what would happen if it turned out that his claim of being unaware of retail sales was false and whether repayment would be possible, Kim stated, "If you give us time, we can sufficiently repay within the corporate rehabilitation process, and we will structure it this way," adding, "I apologize for causing concern."
Kim also denied accusations that he might have anticipated a drop in credit ratings and prepared the documents for corporate rehabilitation in advance. He emphasized, "All documents except for the corporate registration and business license are internal documents," claiming, "I did not prepare in advance."