Homeplus Suppliers Demand Clear Repayment Plan for 790 Billion Won Debt

Suppliers to the South Korean retail giant Homeplus have formally requested the court to include a concrete repayment plan for approximately 790 billion won (about $570 million) in unpaid dues within the company's restructuring proposal. The Homeplus Commercial Public Claims Council, represented by LKB Pyeongsan Law Firm, submitted an opinion to the Seoul Rehabilitation Court detailing their demands.

The council insists that the restructuring plan must specify the financial resources, recipients, criteria, estimated amounts, and a detailed repayment schedule for these outstanding public claims. They also emphasized the legal principle prioritizing the repayment of public claims over rehabilitation claims and secured claims, urging adherence to this rule.

According to Homeplus's monthly reports submitted to the court, the amount of commercial public claims has more than doubled since the initiation of the rehabilitation proceedings, reaching approximately 793.9 billion won as of the end of May, compared to about 328.8 billion won at the start. The total outstanding public claims amount to around 1.1 trillion won.

Suppliers pointed out that while the revised restructuring plan submitted on June 29th outlines a 10-year repayment plan for secured and rehabilitation claims, it lacks specific details regarding public claims. Although a second revised plan submitted on July 12th reportedly included a deadline for public claim repayment, the council argues that without specific financial sources and repayment criteria, estimating the actual recovery timeline remains difficult. Furthermore, the council proposed that a portion of the 200 billion won emergency loan Homeplus secured from Meritz Financial Group should be used to settle these existing public claims, arguing that funds for new supplies are distinct from payments for existing debts.