[Anchor]
Homeplus, currently facing a crisis of bankruptcy, has suspended operations at its stores across the country. The company stated that it no longer has enough money to continue operations. Residents and tenant businesses are expressing shock at the sudden notice of closure.
Reporter Hong Yeongjae has the story.
[Reporter]
Notices announcing a temporary closure have been posted at the entrances of Homeplus supermarkets.
Shopping carts that should be filled with groceries have been turned into barricades blocking the checkout counters, and the shelves inside the darkened stores are empty.
[(Did you hear that they were closing today?) We have no idea. We don't know anything.]
The stores that have entered temporary closure include 67 large Homeplus supermarkets nationwide, as well as the Homeplus headquarters.
Homeplus stated that it decided to suspend operations because it could no longer afford the costs required for merchandise payments and store maintenance.
Customers are also reacting with confusion to the news that the stores, which were crowded just last weekend for massive inventory clearance sales, have suddenly stopped operating.
[Local Resident: It's absurd that this is suddenly gone. Are senior citizens over 80 or 90 supposed to travel two bus stops away just to go grocery shopping? Things like this shouldn't just disappear.]
Tenant businesses also did not receive advance notice of the closure.
They are worried not only about the sales proceeds that have been overdue for several months but also about how they will continue their operations in the future.
[Homeplus Tenant: They never said anything about a closure. I found out this morning through an announcement. We haven't even received our sales payments, and it only goes up to April...]
The anxiety is even greater for the approximately 12,000 Homeplus workers who are now at risk of losing their jobs.
[Kang Woo-chul / Chairman of the Korean Mart Industry Union, KCTU: The workplaces of these workers have been shut down overnight, and the livelihoods of 100,000 people, including tenant business owners and partner company workers, have been pushed to the edge of a cliff.]
The positions of the major shareholder, MBK Partners, and the largest creditor, Meritz Group, remain at a stalemate regarding how to secure the 200 billion won in necessary operating funds.
If a solution is not found by July 20, Homeplus will effectively enter the liquidation process. The labor union plans to meet with the vice chairman of MBK tomorrow, July 14, to urge them to present a plan for securing funds.
Reported by Kim Se-gyeong | Video by Park Chun-bae | VJ: Jeong Han-wook
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