A Homeplus store in Seoul on July 16. [Herald DB]
A Homeplus store in Seoul on July 16. [Herald DB]

Homeplus filed an immediate appeal Monday against a court ruling that terminated its corporate rehabilitation proceedings.

The retailer submitted the appeal to the Seoul Bankruptcy Court at around 4 p.m. that day. In a separate statement, Homeplus said it "expects the rehabilitation proceedings to be extended through this immediate appeal, as 200 billion won ($135 million) in operating funds — the changed-circumstances requirement for reconsideration — has been secured," adding that it plans to resume operations "as soon as the proceedings are extended and debtor-in-possession financing comes through."

The Seoul Bankruptcy Court ruled on July 3 to terminate Homeplus's rehabilitation proceedings, citing the company's failure to raise the minimum 200 billion won required to continue the process. The court left open the possibility of reconsideration, however, saying Homeplus could file an immediate appeal within 14 days if it secured a financing plan.

Homeplus secured the funds after Meritz Financial Group, its largest creditor, held a board meeting July 16 and approved a 200 billion won debtor-in-possession loan. Ahead of that vote, Homeplus's majority shareholder MBK Partners and MBK Chairman Kim Byung-ju agreed to provide joint and several guarantees for the full loan amount. Political mediation also played a role in both decisions.

"Securing operating funds gets us over one major hurdle on the road to normalization, but recovery will be difficult without the cooperation and support of all stakeholders, including suppliers," a Homeplus official said. "We need support from all sides to help Homeplus come back."


soho0902@heraldcorp.com