Homeplus rehabilitation plan approved; government pledges continued support for workers, suppliers

The government said it will continue supporting Homeplus workers and suppliers after a court approved the retailer's rehabilitation plan, pledging to monitor its implementation and help secure a stable operating foundation.

The Ministry of Economy and Finance held a task force meeting Thursday at Government Complex Seoul, chaired by Vice Minister-level official Kang Ki-ryong. Officials from the Ministry of Employment and Labor, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service also attended.

The meeting reviewed the impact of the court's approval of Homeplus's rehabilitation plan and assessed the government's support record for workers and suppliers. The Seoul Bankruptcy Court's fourth rehabilitation division approved the plan submitted by Homeplus on Wednesday.

The government views the approval as a starting point for management normalization. Participants agreed that all stakeholders must act responsibly to ensure Homeplus faithfully carries out the rehabilitation plan and builds a stable operational foundation.

The government said it will continue monitoring the plan's implementation while sustaining support for workers' livelihood stability and suppliers' business stability. It also plans to pursue broader measures to strengthen the competitiveness of the retail industry.

Since Homeplus entered rehabilitation proceedings in March last year, the government has tracked sector-by-sector damage and provided support to workers and suppliers. After the rehabilitation proceedings were terminated in July, it expanded that support further.

From the court's opening of rehabilitation proceedings on March 4 last year through Tuesday, unemployment benefits and wage advance payments to workers totaled 27,739 cases worth 41 billion won ($29.9 million). An additional 9,110 cases worth 42 billion won were provided through livelihood loans for unpaid wages and living stability funds.

For suppliers, the government has been running an emergency liquidity support program totaling 440 billion won. This includes 90 billion won in emergency business stabilization funds from the Korea SMEs and Startups Agency and the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business, and 350 billion won in special guarantees from the Korea Credit Guarantee Fund and Korea Technology Finance Corporation.

Working with banks, the government has also supported loan maturity extensions and repayment deferrals, and is providing new emergency loans of up to 500 million won per company.

Actual disbursements show 321 cases worth 17.1 billion won in emergency business stabilization funds, and 104 cases worth 66.2 billion won in credit and technology guarantees. Maturity extensions and repayment deferrals covered 8,540 cases totaling 5.6 trillion won, while new emergency loans reached 145 cases worth 43.6 billion won.