The court has approved the rehabilitation plan drawn up by Homeplus, which is currently undergoing corporate rehabilitation procedures (court receivership).

Once the execution of repayments begins according to the plan, the rehabilitation process will be concluded.

The 4th Bankruptcy Division of the Seoul Bankruptcy Court (Presiding Judge Jung Joon-young) held a stakeholders' meeting today (the 2nd) to vote on the Homeplus rehabilitation plan, and immediately approved it after the plan was passed.

This means the court has officially permitted the fulfillment of debts in accordance with the rehabilitation plan.

Immediately following the vote, the bench announced, "We declare that the rehabilitation plan has been passed with 100% approval from the secured rehabilitation creditors' group, 75.90% approval from the unsecured rehabilitation creditors' group, and 100% approval from the shareholders' group."

The consent requirements by group for passage were at least 75% for the secured rehabilitation creditors' group, at least 66.7% for the unsecured rehabilitation creditors' group, and at least 50% for the shareholders' group.

After announcing the tally results, the court stated, "Taking into consideration that more than two-thirds of the public interest creditors agreed, we recognize that the requirements for approving the rehabilitation plan have been met," and immediately issued the approval decision.

The court then urged, "We ask the debtor company to make its utmost efforts to successfully implement the rehabilitation plan by cooperating closely with its executives, employees, and partner companies."

Along with the consent rate of interested parties regarding the rehabilitation plan, the court used the degree to which suppliers who have not received payment for goods agreed to installment repayments as a major evaluation indicator. The fact that the consent rate exceeded 66% as of today served as the background for the approval of the rehabilitation plan.

Attending as the administrator, Kim Kwang-il, Vice Chairman of MBK Partners, explained, "I deeply apologize to the creditors suffering losses due to Homeplus's rehabilitation situation," adding, "The core of this rehabilitation plan is to secure profitability by downsizing the business focusing on profitable stores and immediately selling some stores to prioritize debt repayment."

Although some creditors seized the opportunity to speak, voicing concerns such as "Implementing the rehabilitation plan will mass-produce more victims," "It is a structure forcing livelihood-dependent victims to endure for 10 years," "It is more beneficial for the state to liquidate such a company quickly," and "Serious doubts remain regarding its feasibility," it did not prevent the plan from passing.

Homeplus plans to implement rehabilitation procedures, including full-scale debt repayment and restructuring.

First, it plans to sell company-owned stores among its closed locations to repay 1.3 trillion won in senior collateral trust bonds held by Meritz Financial Group, and subsequently secure loans using company-owned stores as collateral to repay other debts.

It has also set a goal to achieve 4.3 trillion won in sales and 162.8 billion won in operating profit by 2030 by cutting costs and attracting customers.

In this process, it will also pursue a merger and acquisition (M&A) for its hypermarket business division.

The labor union emphasized that Homeplus's operations should be normalized as soon as possible.

The Mart Union issued a statement today, saying, "It is a new departure for normalization," and adding, "We must find an acquirer who can manage Homeplus sustainably and achieve a successful M&A."

The Homeplus General Union urged, "Practical and sustainable operational revitalization measures, such as the 'Trader Joe's' model, must be promptly proven," while emphasizing that "employment security and the reinstatement of workers on leave are also urgent."