This article was displayed on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove (MM) website at 2:14 p.m. on Dec. 5, 2025.
In connection with the Homeplus Co. incident, the Financial Supervisory Service gave MBK Partners, a private equity fund (PEF) manager, prior notice of severe disciplinary action including suspension from duty, and also notified disciplinary measures for its executives and employees, with two executives receiving at least a reprimand warning and two employees receiving at least a pay cut, according to confirmations.
According to the investment banking (IB) industry on the 5th, the levels of sanctions for financial company executives are recommendation for dismissal, suspension from duty, reprimand warning, cautionary warning, and caution. For financial company employees, the order of severity is dismissal, suspension, pay cut, reprimand, and caution. An executive of a financial company who receives a reprimand warning is restricted from reappointment and from taking an executive position in the same industry for three years.
Chairman Kim Byung-ju of MBK was reportedly not included in the list of executives and employees to be disciplined. This is presumed to be because Kim does not serve as a registered director of corporations in which MBK has invested, such as Homeplus Co. or Lotte Card, and is not MBK's largest shareholder.
As of last year, MBK's largest shareholders were Vice Chairman Yoon Jong-ha and Vice Chairman Kim Kwang-il, each holding 24.7% equity (29.5% voting rights). In addition, the employee stock ownership association holds 17.4% (20.8% voting rights), Chairman Kim holds 17% (20.2% voting rights), and Dial Capital holds 16.2% (0% voting rights), among others.
The FSS plans to finalize the level of disciplinary action through the Sanctions Review Committee to be held on the 18th of this month. This is the first time the financial authorities have pushed for severe sanctions on a general partner (GP·manager) of an institution-only PEF.
If suspension from duty is finalized through the sanctions review, MBK will be barred from setting up new funds for up to six months. As MBK recently completed forming a fund worth 8 trillion won, a concern inside and outside is the possibility that the National Pension Service may withdraw its existing discretionary management contract.
MBK was selected as a discretionary manager by the National Pension Service and signed a contract in February, just before Homeplus Co. filed for corporate rehabilitation. The National Pension Service's "selection and management criteria for domestic private investment discretionary managers" specifies that if a sanction of agency warning or higher is imposed for a violation of laws and regulations, the selection process for the discretionary manager may be suspended or canceled.
There is also speculation that issues could arise regarding Lotte Card's eligibility of the largest shareholder. The largest shareholder of Lotte Card is Korea Retail Card Holdings, a special-purpose company owned by MBK, which holds 59.83% equity in Lotte Card. If MBK is forced to sell Lotte Card, its negotiating power would be weakened, creating the possibility that it will not receive a fair price.
Under the current Act on Corporate Governance of Financial Companies, anyone seeking to become a largest shareholder of a financial company must undergo a qualification review by the financial authorities. The requirements include a "moral metric," such as that the subject of review must not have been punished with a fine or higher for violating financial-related laws or the Fair Trade Act within the past five years. The largest shareholder of a financial company is, in principle, required to continue to meet these requirements even after an acquisition.
An official in the securities industry said, "Usually, when the financial authorities impose disciplinary action on a financial company, the level of sanctions against the company and against its executives and employees tends to be similar," adding, "Because MBK received a suspension from duty, it appears heavy sanctions were also imposed on its executives and employees."
In 2015, MBK acquired management control of Homeplus Co. for 7.2 trillion won (including existing borrowing fund). In the process, it used a leveraged-buyout method, borrowing about 2.7 trillion won. MBK faces allegations that it raised funds and changed contracts in a way favorable to itself, harming the interests of limited partners such as the National Pension Service.
Since COVID-19, Homeplus Co. has faced a liquidity crisis due to deteriorating results as the e-commerce market surged and regulations on hypermarkets overlapped. A pre-approval sale before the rehabilitation plan is currently underway.
MBK Partners said, "The terms of the preferred shares invested in by the National Pension Service have not changed, and we did not infringe on the National Pension Service's interests," adding, "We will diligently explain ourselves in the upcoming sanctions review and subsequent procedures."