Homeplus demands Hyundai Card, Samsung Card reverse payment freeze

Homeplus said Monday it had received official notices from Hyundai Card and Samsung Card informing it of a suspension and offset of merchant payments for both online and offline transactions, and immediately demanded the card companies reverse the decision.

In a statement released that day, Homeplus said a court ruling to terminate rehabilitation proceedings does not take effect until finalized, and that an immediate appeal remains available within 14 days of the ruling's announcement, meaning the proceedings are still in force. The company said the card firms' notice terminating their online mall points partnership on the grounds of the termination ruling "does not meet the required conditions and therefore has no legal effect."

Homeplus added that credit purchases are no longer possible at its offline stores and that its online operations have been suspended for three days, making order cancellations impossible. "It makes no sense to suspend offline merchant payments in order to process outstanding receivables and canceled sales from both online and offline channels," the company said.

"If the card companies' payment freeze blocks the recovery of card receivables, we cannot operate," a Homeplus official said. "With every employee doing their best until the very end, it is unacceptable to throw cold water on our rehabilitation efforts for nonsensical reasons."