Seoul court terminates Homeplus rehabilitation process

July 03, 2026

The Seoul Bankruptcy Court decided Friday to end rehabilitation proceedings for Homeplus after the retailer failed to secure needed funds.

The Seoul Bankruptcy Court rejected Homeplus' revised rehabilitation plan. The court cited the company's failure to secure at least 200 billion won as the reason for termination.

Homeplus, wholly owned by MBK Partners since its 2015 acquisition from Tesco, entered court-led rehabilitation last March. The retailer has 14 days to appeal the ruling.

The Finance Ministry announced support measures for employees and partner firms, including compensation for unpaid wages and low-interest loans totaling up to 440 billion won in liquidity aid.

What people are saying

Initial reactions on X highlight the Seoul court's termination of Homeplus rehabilitation leading to likely liquidation, concerns over job losses for thousands of employees, and criticism of private equity firm MBK Partners for the failed turnaround.

Homeplus, one of SK's largest hypermarket chains, has effectively failed. The court ended its corporate rehabilitation process bcs it concluded tht there ws no realistic chance of the company recovering. As a result, Homeplus is now expected 2 move 2ward liquidation or bankruptcy pic.twitter.com/Ej0qsikcL3

— Van 🍕🍹 (@xcipherv) July 3, 2026

This is a major blow to MBK Partners, the private equity firm that bought Homeplus in 2015 in one of the largest buyout deals in Asia. The investment ultimately failed due to several factors, including the rise of online shopping, the decline of the hypermarket industry, +

— Van 🍕🍹 (@xcipherv) July 3, 2026

Homeplus, Korea’s second-largest hypermarket chain, is heading toward liquidation after a court terminated its rehabilitation proceedings, ruling that the cash-strapped retailer had no viable path to carrying out its turnaround plan, according to industry officials, Friday.…

— The Korea Times (@koreatimescokr) July 3, 2026

A court decision on Friday to terminate the rehabilitation proceedings for cash-strapped discount store chain Homeplus has raised concerns for the company's 12,000 employees who could lose their jobs.https://t.co/3FsFTLY38q

— The Korea Times (@koreatimescokr) July 3, 2026

Meritz urges MBK to play responsible role after Homeplus rehabilitation terminatedhttps://t.co/l2l2woTMA8

— DigitalToday FinTech (@korea_fintech) July 3, 2026

Sources

• https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20260703004953315
• https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20260703006600320
• https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20260703004952315
• https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20260703004951315
• https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20260703004900315