South Korea’s Seoul Bankruptcy Court has reversed its earlier decision to terminate Homeplus’ corporate rehabilitation proceedings, extending the case until 4 September after the discount retailer filed an appeal.
The appeal was lodged by Homeplus on Monday (20 July), contesting the court’s ruling of 3 July, which had sought to conclude the rehabilitation process.
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
That earlier decision followed the retailer’s failure to secure at least Won200bn ($134m) of the funding required to sustain restructuring efforts.
“The original termination decision was based on a lack of feasibility to carry out the rehabilitation plan due to a shortage of funds, but as operating funds have been secured, the immediate appeal has been recognised”, the court said, as reported by the Yonhap News Agency.
The company had temporarily closed its stores from 13 July, pointing to a shortage of operating funds and difficulties in maintaining store operations.
Homeplus moved to appeal after Meritz Financial Group, its largest creditor, agreed the previous week to provide financing, with the arrangement underpinned by a full payment guarantee from MBK Partners, the retailer’s sole owner.
MBK Partners acquired complete ownership of Homeplus in 2015, purchasing the business from UK-based Tesco for Won7.2tn ($6.1bn).
The consortium leading the acquisition also included Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Public Sector Pension Investment Board and Temasek Holdings.
In June 2025, the Seoul Bankruptcy Court had approved Homeplus’s move to pursue a merger and acquisition (M&A) deal ahead of a court ruling on its rehabilitation plan, a move intended to support creditor repayment and protect jobs at the company.
That approval enabled Homeplus to appoint an M&A adviser and move forward with the deal on terms considered favourable to creditors and employees alike.
Separately, within South Korea’s wider retail sector, online sales exceeded the 60% threshold for the first time in March.
According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, online platforms accounted for 60.6% of combined sales among the country’s leading distributors in March — the highest proportion recorded since the ministry began its monthly retail survey in June 2016.
