Homeplus Set to Begin Normalization After 18 Months, but Restructuring of 67 Stores Is Unavoidable

Homeplus, which has been undergoing corporate rehabilitation proceedings, has escaped the threat of bankruptcy after its rehabilitation plan won creditor approval and received final approval from the court. This comes about 18 months after rehabilitation proceedings began in March last year. Homeplus plans to begin full-scale operational normalization centered on 67 stores.
According to retail and legal industry sources on the 2nd, the Seoul Bankruptcy Court held a creditors’ meeting that afternoon to vote on Homeplus’s rehabilitation plan. After the plan passed, the court immediately issued its approval order. This means the court formally authorized Homeplus to make repayments in accordance with the rehabilitation plan.
As a result, Homeplus has escaped the threat of bankruptcy and can repay its debts under the approved rehabilitation plan while pursuing operational normalization. It has been about 18 months since rehabilitation proceedings began in March last year. If repayments under the plan proceed as scheduled, the rehabilitation proceedings will be concluded.
Now that the rehabilitation plan has received final court approval, Homeplus plans to begin full-scale operational normalization centered on 67 stores. After reopening 67 stores nationwide on the 13th of last month, Homeplus generated 116.4 billion won in sales through the 30th of the same month. That was 57% higher than during the same period before operations were suspended.
Homeplus will also begin selling stores in earnest to repay creditors. Of the 37 stores that have closed, the company plans to sell 19 company-owned stores by February 2028 and use the proceeds to repay trust-secured creditors.
Once the trust-secured claims are repaid with proceeds from the sale of company-owned stores and the security interests are released, Homeplus plans to raise additional funds using the remaining stores.
The company also plans to secure additional funds for creditor repayments by taking out real estate-backed loans using its remaining company-owned stores as underlying assets. At the same time, it will continue pursuing mergers and acquisitions (M&A) to find a new buyer.
However, a reduction in business scale appears unavoidable in the process. The sale of closed stores and the restructuring of operations around 67 core stores are likely to be accompanied by organizational and workforce adjustments.
Industry observers say that Homeplus has moved one step away from the immediate threat of bankruptcy following approval of the rehabilitation plan, but that its actual normalization will be determined from this point forward. The prevailing view is that Homeplus’s survival will depend on whether it can restore the competitiveness of its 67 stores, generate stable cash flow, and carry out additional fundraising and creditor repayments as planned.
[email protected] Jang Yu-ha and Kim Hyun-ji, Reporters