This article was displayed on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove (MM) site at 4:12 p.m. on Mar. 3, 2026.
Homeplus Co. has caught its breath at the edge of a cliff. The company escaped an immediate risk of liquidation after the court extended the deadline to approve Homeplus Co.'s rehabilitation plan by two months. The result came after MBK Partners, the private equity fund (PEF) manager and major shareholder, moved to resuscitate the company by injecting 100 billion won in debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing. (Related article☞[Exclusive] Chairman Kim Byung-ju's "home collateral"… MBK injects 100 billion won alone into Homeplus Co.)
But in the industry, the secured two months are seen not as time for fundamental reform, but merely as a "grace period" for a tug-of-war with creditors. With major creditors including Meritz Financial Group putting more weight on liquidation, the prevailing view is that without a fundamental funding solution, it will be hard to resolve the structural problems.
According to the investment banking (IB) industry and according to legal sources on the 3rd, the Rehabilitation Division 4 of the Seoul Bankruptcy Court (Chief Judge Jung Jun-young) extended the deadline to approve Homeplus Co.'s rehabilitation plan by two months, from the 4th of this month to May 4. Under the Debtor Rehabilitation and Bankruptcy Act, the court must decide whether to approve a rehabilitation plan within one year from the commencement date, but if there is an unavoidable reason, it may extend the deadline within a six-month range.
MBK Partners' injection of new funds played a decisive role in the court's decision to extend the deadline. The panel determined that the initial 100 billion won to be provided by MBK Partners could cover urgent debts such as employee wages. It also judged that extending the deadline would not significantly disadvantage stakeholders such as rehabilitation creditors, as MBK Partners expressed it would waive repayment claims to those funds if the rehabilitation plan is terminated. The need to watch the progress of the sale of the "Homeplus Express" institutional sector was also taken into account.
As a result, Homeplus Co. avoided the worst-case scenario of a paralyzed logistics network and store operations for now. From the court's perspective, which had worried about the ripple effects of an immediate liquidation of a major retailer, it also gained grounds to test the possibility of normalization once more.
The problem is that the 100 billion won being injected this time is, after all, a stopgap. Considering Homeplus Co.'s accumulated liabilities and the working capital injected each month, it is far from enough to secure long-term survival as collateral. According to the structural-innovation rehabilitation plan Homeplus Co. submitted at the end of last year, it immediately needs a total of 300 billion won in emergency operating funds.
Another major obstacle is the unbridgeable gap between MBK Partners and the main creditors. Homeplus Co.'s total claims amount to 2.6078 trillion won. Of that, Meritz Group holds 1.2396 trillion won in senior trust collateral. Sixty-two stores nationwide are pledged as collateral, with an appraised value of about 2.8 trillion won. By simple calculation, the collateral value far exceeds the claim amount, leading to analysis that even in liquidation proceedings, recovering principal would not be difficult.
From Meritz's standpoint, exercising existing collateral rights is a more rational strategy than increasing risk by injecting additional funds. During the stakeholder comment period, Meritz is said to have conveyed that there was no need to extend the deadline for approving the rehabilitation plan.
In particular, under its loan agreement with Homeplus Co., Meritz can receive interest of up to 20% per year if arrears occur. By contrast, if rehabilitation proceedings move forward and repayment terms are readjusted, interest and delinquent interest items could be drastically reduced or calculated at a lower rate.
Although Homeplus Co. has put out the immediate fire, if the creditor group maintains its existing stance, the company's fate in two months is likely to end in liquidation. A lawyer who previously served as a Director General judge at the rehabilitation court said, "After the injected 100 billion won is exhausted, Homeplus Co.'s losses will again accumulate and inevitably work against all stakeholders," adding, "If additional outside capital inflows are delayed due to creditors' decisions, the panel will also lose grounds to extend the rehabilitation deadline further."