Prosecutors Summon MBK Partners Vice President Over Homeplus Bond Fraud Allegations

Prosecutors have summoned Kim Jung-hwan, a vice president at MBK Partners, who is suspected of involvement in a bond fraud case worth over 100 billion won related to the Homeplus situation.
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office's Anti-Corruption Investigation Department 2 (Chief Prosecutor Lee Sang-hyuk) called in Vice President Kim for questioning as a suspect today (July 20).
The management of MBK Partners, the major shareholder of Homeplus, is accused of issuing bonds, including asset-backed short-term bonds (ABSTB), totaling 116.4 billion won in February of last year, despite having foreseen a downgrade in Homeplus's credit rating.
In April of the same year, immediately after Homeplus filed for corporate rehabilitation, four securities firms, including Shinyoung Securities, and investors in the company's short-term bonds filed a complaint with the prosecution against MBK management, alleging fraud under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment, etc. of Specific Economic Crimes and violations of the Capital Markets Act.
In January, the prosecution requested arrest warrants for four MBK executives, including Vice President Kim, Chairman Kim Byung-ju, Vice Chairman Kim Kwang-il (co-CEO of Homeplus), and Executive Director Lee Sung-jin, but the court dismissed all of them, stating that there was insufficient evidence to substantiate the allegations.
In response, the prosecution stated it would "re-evaluate the case from an objective perspective," unusually reassigning the case from the Anti-Corruption Investigation Department 3 to Department 2, and has been re-examining the allegations in their entirety.
The prosecution is expected to decide whether to indict the remaining executives, including Chairman Kim, after completing their questioning in the near future.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.