Kim Byung-joo, chair of MBK Partners, responded to criticism asking, "What is it that you are participating in (MBK) decision-making?" by saying, "I am not a conglomerate chief," and added, "We are a private equity fund (PEF) manager, and 13 partners are involved, each handling their own field," on the 14th.
At the National Policy Committee's parliamentary inspection that day, Kim answered a question from Rep. Park Sang-hyuk of the Democratic Party of Korea regarding Homeplus's turnaround and the Lotte Card hacking incident, saying, "My role is to manage the places that received funds through fundraising."
When Rep. Park asked, "You have acquired multiple corporations such as Homeplus and Lotte Card over the years, so if you only raised funds, do you have no responsibility at all?" Kim said, "Still, because it is my company, I believe I must bear social responsibility."
MBK said on the 13th, the day before the inspection, that it would officially launch a "social responsibility committee." The social responsibility committee, which launches on the 22nd, plans to monitor whether MBK is fulfilling its social duties in connection with its investment activities and to review the impact on stakeholders such as shareholders, executives and employees, customers, and partners.