The Democratic Party of Korea's Euljiro Committee appealed to the public Friday to shop at Homeplus on the retailer's soft reopening day, urging citizens to "protect 100,000 jobs and our neighborhood economy through your grocery shopping."
Min Byeong-deok, chair of the Democratic Party's Euljiro Committee, held a joint press conference with the Mart Industry Labor Union at the National Assembly on Friday, saying "the store that had gone dark has lit up again." He called on the public to help complete Homeplus's recovery. "We must now turn this hard-won revival into a full normalization," he said.
"We appeal to you earnestly," Min added. "Please come back to the Homeplus that the people helped bring back to life."
The Euljiro Committee said Homeplus had been "pushed to the brink of liquidation by the irresponsible greed of speculative capital" before being given a chance at rehabilitation through solidarity among the government, the National Assembly and the public. "But turning the lights back on in the stores does not mean normalization is complete," the committee said.
The committee warned that "speculative capital may be waiting for public attention to fade, already dreaming up new tricks," and said simply reopening the doors would not be enough to fully save Homeplus.
The Democratic Party urged the public to actively patronize Homeplus. "What goes into a shopping basket is not just merchandise — it is a family's livelihood and our neighborhood's future," the Euljiro Committee said. "Every basket picked up and every step taken at Homeplus on Friday is the most powerful force for rebuilding the workplaces that speculative capital destroyed."
"Your grocery shopping protects the jobs that allow 100,000 workers to come in tomorrow, revives the lives of small vendors and tenants teetering on the edge, and proves that our neighborhoods will not be broken by speculative capital," the committee added.
The committee also called on the government and the National Assembly not to settle for a symbolic reopening, saying they must "continue to oversee and support the process until a genuine acquisition brings about complete normalization." It added that workers, tenants and civil society groups would also keep watch until the matter is fully resolved.
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