This article was published on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove (MM) site at 2:47 p.m. on Oct. 27, 2025.
With the deadline for submitting letters of intent (LOI) to acquire Homeplus Co. approaching, some in the capital market have raised the possibility that the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation may step in, and a remark made by Chung Yong-jin more than 10 years ago is also drawing attention. Chung said at the time that if NongHyup acquired Homeplus Co., it could create synergies.
According to investment banking industry sources on the 27th, Homeplus Co. plans to accept LOIs until the end of this month. Because the deadline for submitting the rehabilitation plan is Nov. 10, the acquiring party must be finalized before then.
Amid this, the argument for NongHyup's role is gaining weight. Politicians and labor groups are urging NongHyup to step in and acquire Homeplus Co., saying that the retailer's return to normal operations is not simply an M&A issue but is directly tied to the "collapse of agricultural product distribution networks."
Rep. Song Ok-ju of the Democratic Party of Korea said at the parliamentary audit of the Agriculture, Food, Rural Affairs, Oceans, and Fisheries Committee on the 24th that Homeplus Co. sells about 1.88 trillion won a year of domestically produced agricultural and livestock products, which is one-third of transactions at Garak Market, and argued that NongHyup could obtain significant benefits if it used Homeplus Co.'s distribution network since annual transactions between NongHyup and Homeplus Co. alone amount to 407.2 billion won.
Rep. Eo Gi-gu of the Democratic Party of Korea also warned that if Homeplus Co. is liquidated, the livelihoods of 300,000 people, including partner companies and supplying farms, would be threatened, and emphasized that NongHyup should consider acquiring Homeplus Co. from a public interest perspective.
The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions issued a statement the same day urging the government and NongHyup to devise a solution with a sense of public responsibility, saying Homeplus Co. is responsible for the livelihoods of about 20,000 directly employed workers and more than 200,000 workers at partner companies, and arguing that NongHyup should consider acquisition and support plans to secure employment stability and maintain distribution networks.
The idea of synergies between NongHyup and Homeplus Co. is not new. Chung Yong-jin mentioned it 11 years ago.
At the Korea-ASEAN CEO Summit held at the Busan Exhibition & Convention Center (BEXCO) in December 2014, Chung said Homeplus Co. would be best acquired by NongHyup.
Chung's remark at the time came amid speculation that Emart might acquire Homeplus Co. He meant that NongHyup would be a more appropriate buyer than Emart.
Homeplus Co., which launched in 1997 from Samsung C&T's retail division, later operated under joint management by Samsung and Britain's Tesco, and was put up for sale in 2014, when Emart was mentioned as a potential buyer. As Chung denied at the time, Emart did not pursue the acquisition, and the following year MBK Partners became the new owner after spending 7.2 trillion won.
Chung's remark at the time was praised for pinpointing the essence of distribution structure. He argued that Homeplus Co., Emart and Lotte (Mart) overlap greatly in trade areas and that it would be more reasonable for NongHyup rather than a large conglomerate-affiliated hypermarket to be the buyer; in fact, NongHyup handles a high proportion of agricultural products, so even if it acquired Homeplus Co., the risk of a market monopoly would be low.
However, NongHyup has taken a negative stance on the possibility of acquiring Homeplus Co. both in 2014 and now. In 2014 it strongly denied it as an "absurd scenario," and regarding the recent role being suggested, National Agricultural Cooperative Federation Chairman Kang Ho-dong dismissed it, saying it had not been reviewed internally. Nonetheless, with heated demands from politicians and labor groups, some in the securities industry are speculating that NongHyup may eventually weigh whether to participate in the bidding.