The Homeplus Co. general labor union issued a statement on the 26th, asking partner suppliers to agree to public-interest claims partitioning repayment and a grace period to secure court approval of the rehabilitation plan set for Sept. 4.
According to the union, the public-interest claims for which Homeplus Co. is asking partners to allow a repayment grace period involve 1,267 companies and total 503 billion won. The share that has submitted consent forms remains in the 30% range. Because public-interest claims must be repaid from time to time regardless of rehabilitation proceedings, individual creditor consent is required to postpone the due date. If sufficient consent is not secured, it is difficult to meet the requirements for approval of the rehabilitation plan.
The union moved to persuade partners based on executives' and employees' self-help efforts. Since May, the union has declared wage deferrals and wage forfeitures, and said that 95% of members and 75% of all executives and employees approved a two-month wage deferral and an extension of the deadline for retirement reserves. Homeplus Co. had a little over 23,000 executives and employees just before filing for rehabilitation, but that number has now fallen to a little over 9,000.
Earlier, Homeplus Co. faced a liquidation crisis after the court decided on July 3 to terminate rehabilitation proceedings. The union visited the largest creditor, Meritz Financial Group, to convey its commitment to normalization, and Meritz Financial Group decided to provide $200 million in DIP (debtor-in-possession) financing. Based on this, Homeplus Co. conducted a soft opening on Aug. 7 and reopened on Aug. 13. The union said that sales reached 44 billion won four days after reopening, and that tenant companies and local small business owners who had left after the termination decision are returning.
The union said that once approval of the rehabilitation plan is finalized, it will immediately begin a post-approval M&A (mergers and acquisitions) process and, once an acquirer is set, will prioritize early repayment of the deferred public-interest claims. The union has been working to persuade all partner suppliers since the 24th.
The union said, "The livelihoods of 300,000 people, including Homeplus Co. executives and employees, small business owners operating in stores, and partner suppliers' families, depend on whether approval is granted on Sept. 4," and added, "We will take responsibility to the end to ensure that partners do not suffer unfair damage during the normalization process."