This article was displayed on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove (MM) site at 9:59 p.m. on Feb. 28, 2026.
Ahead of a decision on whether to extend Homeplus Co.'s corporate rehabilitation, majority shareholder MBK Partners will inject 100 billion won in debtor-in-possession (DIP) emergency operating funds. It has been confirmed that Chairman Kim Byung-ju's private residence and other personal asset were provided as collateral for this DIP.
The execution of the DIP by MBK Partners is seen as the controlling shareholder's last resort to secure the court's approval to extend rehabilitation amid stalled creditor talks and uncertainty over financing.
According to the investment banking (IB) industry and according to legal sources, MBK Partners has secured 100 billion won in emergency operating funds to be paid to Homeplus Co. In the process, Chairman Kim is understood to have provided his personally owned residence and other property as collateral. The funds will be used to resolve the most pressing issues facing Homeplus Co. now—clearing overdue employee wages and paying suppliers.
Initially, under a "structure-innovation rehabilitation plan" arranged at the end of last year, MBK Partners planned to raise 300 billion won in DIP funds together with the main creditor group Meritz Financial Group and Korea Development Bank (KDB). But with the creditors and KDB showing little response, the overall financing ran into trouble, and MBK Partners alone is proceeding to execute 100 billion won.
The industry is focusing on why the chairman put up his residence as collateral. Most of the chairman's personal asset is known to be the equity value of unlisted MBK Partners. That is an illiquid asset that is not easy to cash out quickly.
In this situation, the industry says there would have been no option but to offer highly liquid real assets as collateral to prove financing capability to the creditors and the court.
After Homeplus Co. entered corporate rehabilitation last year, the chairman contributed 40 billion won of his own money. He also provided a personal guarantee for a 60 billion won DIP loan and has waived his right of indemnity.
Homeplus Co.'s rehabilitation is now at a critical juncture. The court receivership period that began on March 4 last year ends on the 3rd of next month. If the court does not decide to extend the process, Homeplus Co. will immediately move to bankruptcy or liquidation. The court has asked stakeholders including MBK Partners, the creditors, and the labor union to submit their final views on whether to continue the rehabilitation process. (Related article☞[Exclusive] Court: "If Homeplus continues rehabilitation, recommend a new administrator by the 13th" final notice to MBK, creditors, and the union) The court is said to have ordered submission not only of specific financing plans as a condition for extending rehabilitation, but also of a "third-party administrator recommendation plan."
The industry believes Homeplus Co.'s fate has now passed into the hands of the court and the creditors. Although MBK Partners has gone so far as to use the chairman's residence as collateral and commit 100 billion won, the chances that this will prime the pump for the full 300 billion won are not high. The court plans to decide on an extension of rehabilitation after comprehensively assessing the effectiveness of MBK Partners' emergency capital injection.
A legal industry official said, "Realistically, the controlling shareholder has mobilized every means available," and predicted, "Over the next three days, depending on how the creditors evaluate this do-or-die move, the life or death of Homeplus Co., with jobs for more than 20,000 people at stake, will be determined."
An MBK Partners official said, "Our position remains that the Homeplus Co. rehabilitation process must be extended," adding, "We will cooperate even if a decision is made to replace the administrator."