Homeplus labor, management agree to delay wages, split bonus payments

Homeplus and its unions announced Friday that they have agreed to temporarily adjust employee compensation and stagger wage payments to accelerate the company's self-rescue efforts.

Under the agreement, wages will be paid on a two-month delay through March next year, meaning July salaries will be disbursed in September. A regular bonus scheduled for September will be split into six equal monthly installments.

The company will also suspend employment stability support payments — worth up to 12 months of base salary — that would otherwise go to employees at closing stores who choose to leave. Consolation payments for workers at stores being liquidated who transfer to other locations will likewise be divided into six equal monthly installments, according to sources familiar with the matter.

The agreement also lays the groundwork for smoother execution of ongoing store closures and operational adjustments at select locations. Should Homeplus secure 200 billion won ($139 million) in debtor-in-possession financing, the company plans to direct those funds first toward stabilizing product supply, restoring normal operations, and covering employee salaries and essential operating costs to preserve its going-concern value.

The measures were decided at a Monday meeting between company management and the two major Homeplus unions — the Mart Union Homeplus Branch and the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) Homeplus General Union — as well as the employee representative body Hanmaeum Council. The agreement reflects a shared commitment by both labor and management to ease the company's liquidity burden and secure funding for operational recovery.

"Even amid the company's extremely difficult circumstances, both unions and employees have made a weighty decision in support of Homeplus's recovery," a company official said. "We will focus all our efforts on restoring normal operations and rebuilding corporate value so that their sacrifice and cooperation are not in vain."

The official added that the company's turnaround would require not only the efforts of labor and management but also the cooperation and support of other stakeholders, including suppliers, the government and creditors.