Homeplus Co. said on the 24th that, ahead of the court's decision on approval of its rehabilitation plan on the 4th of next month, it has been obtaining consent from public-interest creditors for partitioning repayment of claims. The consent rate among former and current employees is already known to have surpassed 75%.
Wages and severance pay also qualify as public-interest claims. If the consent rate among public-interest creditors is low, the rehabilitation court may decide not to approve the plan, judging that the company cannot bear the funding burden and will have difficulty carrying out the plan. If approval is not granted, the rehabilitation process ends and the case moves to bankruptcy, which could actually lower the repayment rate for public-interest creditors and delay the timing of repayment. That is why the consent rate of public-interest creditors is considered a key indicator that determines whether the rehabilitation plan is approved.
In response, Homeplus Co. is asking not only partner companies but also former and current employees to agree to delayed payment of severance and wages. The company said employees are actively agreeing, believing that saving the company is the most important task right now.
The Hanmaeum Council, the employee representative body, also sent a letter to partners appealing for consent. In the letter, the council said, "After reopening, employees gained hope that 'rehabilitation is not entirely impossible,' but for this hope to be realized, the rehabilitation plan must be approved," and added, "We are very sorry, but we need the partner companies' consent to partitioning repayment of public-interest claims."
Homeplus Co. said that after reopening on the 13th of this month, its first weekend sales were about three times higher than before the suspension of operations. To sustain this trend, approval of the rehabilitation plan is needed, so how much consent it can secure from public-interest creditors going forward is expected to decide the success or failure of the rehabilitation.