Prosecutors currently investigating the Homeplus Co. case summoned and questioned Kim Byung-ju, chairman of MBK Partners.
According to legal sources on the 9th, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office's Anti-Corruption Investigation Department 3 (acting chief prosecutor Kim Bong-jin) summoned Kim the previous day as a suspect on charges including fraud under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes and violations of the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act. MBK Partners is the largest shareholder of Homeplus Co..
Prosecutors are currently investigating Homeplus Co. and MBK Partners on suspicion that they recognized in advance the possibility of a credit rating downgrade but still issued and sold a large amount of short-term bonds, causing losses to investors. In particular, prosecutors are also looking into the possibility that they concealed related risks from investors while internally planning to file for corporate rehabilitation proceedings for Homeplus Co..
Earlier, Korea Ratings and Korea Investors Service on Feb. 28 downgraded Homeplus Co.'s credit rating from the existing "A3" to "A3-," one notch above speculative grade (B). Four days later, on Mar. 4, Homeplus Co. filed for corporate rehabilitation with the Seoul Bankruptcy Court.
It is reported that prosecutors pressed whether MBK Partners and Homeplus Co. were aware of the credit deterioration even before Feb. 25, when they received the first notification of a rating downgrade, and whether there were reporting and approval procedures during the subsequent short-term bond issuance process.
In April, prosecutors launched a compulsory investigation into the headquarters of Homeplus Co. and MBK Partners and the home of Chairman Kim. At the end of the same month, they also executed search and seizure at the headquarters of Korea Ratings and Korea Investors Service. Recently, they summoned and questioned Vice Chairman Kim Gwang-il as a suspect.