Chair Kim Byung-ju of MBK Partners said on the 14th, "I am sorry for causing concern to the public," and added, "I will fulfill my social responsibility to Homeplus executives, employees, and stakeholders."
Kim answered this way to a question from Rep. Lee Kang-il of the Democratic Party of Korea regarding the Homeplus rehabilitation plan at the National Policy Committee's parliamentary audit that day. Kim appeared as a witness that day.
Vice Chair Kim Kwang-il of MBK Partners, who was present, said, "After the rehabilitation process, we fully repaid rehabilitation claims for small business owners," and added, "Claims from large companies and financial creditors remain, and we will complete the rehabilitation process successfully and repay them."
Rep. Lee pointed out, "The Homeplus situation arose from MBK's aggressive leveraged buyout and lack of management strategy," and added, "Even so, you keep talking only about government support while holding Homeplus small business owners and supermarket workers hostage."
He went on, "Each time you acquired companies such as ING Life (now Shinhan Life Insurance), Coway, Doosan Machine Tools (now DN Solutions), and D'Live, you promised investment and growth, but you kept focusing only on recouping your investment," and criticized, "Is it unreasonable to expect 'noblesse oblige' (the moral duty corresponding to high status) from Chair Kim?"
Kim, a U.S. citizen, had not complied with the National Assembly's requests to appear, citing overseas schedules. In May, prosecutors initiated procedures to ban Kim from leaving the country.