Prosecutors Summon Kim Byung-joo, Chairman of MBK Partners, Over Homeplus Case; Coordinating Investigation Date for the 11th

[Financial News] Prosecutors have notified Kim Byung-joo, chairman of MBK Partners, that he must appear for questioning in connection with the Homeplus case. The investigation was initially scheduled for the 11th, but the specific date is still being coordinated. Attention is focused on whether prosecutors can complete the disposition of the case before the Supreme Prosecutors' Office of the Republic of Korea is abolished and its investigative authority is eliminated on October 2.
According to legal sources on the 8th, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office's Anti-Corruption Investigation Division 2, headed by Chief Prosecutor Lee Sang-hyuk, has notified Kim Byung-joo, who faces charges including fraud under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes and violations of the Capital Markets Act, to appear for questioning on the 11th. The schedule is being coordinated. A prosecution official said, "The date for the summons has not been finalized."
Kim Byung-joo, along with Homeplus executives and the management of its largest shareholder, MBK Partners, is suspected of causing losses to investors by issuing and selling large amounts of asset-backed short-term bonds (ABSTBs) while concealing the company's financial crisis and the possibility of a credit-rating downgrade, despite allegedly knowing about them in advance.
On February 28 last year, Korea Ratings downgraded Homeplus's short-term corporate bond credit rating from A3 to A3-. Just four days later, on March 4, Homeplus applied for corporate rehabilitation proceedings, prompting suspicions that the company had issued the short-term bonds despite knowing in advance that its credit rating could be downgraded.
Shinyoung Securities and Hana Securities, among others that participated in the issuance and sale of the short-term bonds, filed a complaint with prosecutors against Kim Byung-joo and others in April last year. The Financial Supervisory Service also detected suspicions of fraudulent trading by MBK Partners and referred the case to prosecutors through a fast-track process.
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office's Anti-Corruption Investigation Division 3, which initially investigated the case, sought an arrest warrant for Kim Byung-joo and others in January, but the court rejected it. The case was subsequently reassigned to Anti-Corruption Investigation Division 2, and the investigation team has conducted a supplementary investigation while comprehensively reviewing the applicable legal principles and other matters.
Anti-Corruption Investigation Division 2 successively questioned Kim Kwang-il, vice chairman of MBK Partners and co-CEO of Homeplus; Kim Jung-hwan, vice president of MBK Partners; and Lee Seong-jin, a former executive vice president of Homeplus. This is the first time Kim Byung-joo has been summoned for questioning since the case was reassigned.
As the Supreme Prosecutors' Office of the Republic of Korea is scheduled to be abolished and converted into the Public Prosecution Office on October 2, attention is also focused on how prosecutors will conclude the case during the remaining period after questioning Kim Byung-joo.
 
[email protected] Choi Eun-sol Reporter