With People Power Party lawmakers absent, the National Policy Committee held its first meeting and moved to respond to the "Homeplus incident." The Democratic Party of Korea said it would push for a hearing that includes MBK Partners, the largest shareholder of Homeplus Co., and key creditor Meritz securities.
On the morning of the 6th, the National Policy Committee, with the opposition party absent, held its first full meeting since the formation of the latter half of the 22nd National Assembly and began to respond to the Homeplus Co. situation. Earlier, on the 3rd, the Seoul Bankruptcy Court decided to terminate Homeplus Co.'s rehabilitation proceedings.
Lawmaker Min Byung-deok took aim at the conduct of MBK Partners and Meritz securities. Min said, "MBK, which recovered more than 5 trillion won in cash over 10 years through dividends and asset sales, remained silent on funding support for rehabilitation and on a personal guarantee by Kim Byung-ju," and criticized, "Meritz, too, is showing predatory financial behavior while turning away from social responsibility."
Min also noted that, with the court's decision, creditors' compulsory execution and auctions are now possible, placing the situation in an "ultra-emergency state," and that the grace period is only two weeks. Min added, "We must thoroughly determine whether MBK's predatory financial techniques violated the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act," and said, "I strongly propose a hearing at the National Policy Committee level."
Committee Chairperson Yoo Dong-soo then said regarding a Homeplus Co. situation hearing that includes MBK and Meritz, "Since the opposition party is not attending the meeting at this time, once the opposition party's secretary is appointed, we will proceed at the committee level after consultations between the secretaries." Lawmaker Park Hong-bae also said, "A hearing is essential on MBK Partners' process of acquiring Homeplus Co. and on the various problems after the acquisition."
As the opposition's absence continued, a proposal emerged to push for a solo hearing. Lawmaker Lee Kang-il said, "If the No. 1 opposition party does not cooperate on forming the house, it will be difficult to set a hearing schedule and only waste time," and emphasized, "If operational cooperation is difficult, we should hold a hearing among ourselves."
The Democratic Party of Korea on this day proceeded with the National Policy Committee meeting on its own with the opposition absent and elected lawmaker Park Sang-hyuk as the party's secretary.