Lee Bok-hyun, head of the Financial Supervisory Service, noted on the 24th regarding the Homeplus situation that "MBK Partners and Homeplus have confirmed in advance that they expected a credit rating downgrade due to vast information."
On the morning of the same day, Lee attended a briefing on capital market issues at the Financial Supervisory Service in Yeouido, Seoul, and said, "MBK and Homeplus claimed through the media that they did not expect a credit rating downgrade, but it has been confirmed that they prepared for corporate rehabilitation long before."
Lee criticized, "The court's rehabilitation process must be respected, and it is a natural consensus process for creditors to voluntarily agree to the rehabilitation plan," adding, "However, the stance shown by MBK and Homeplus cannot help but feel that the positions of the debtor, major shareholders, and creditors have been reversed."
Nevertheless, he added, "They said they would normally repay trade receivables, but as repayments have been delayed, the anxiety of suppliers continues," and noted, "They also have not paid rent since March, causing landlords to suffer as well."
Lee pointed out that MBK also requested the cooperation of financial institutions, the creditors, from the FSS, indicating that MBK appears to be trying to avoid responsibility rather than making sacrifices as a major shareholder.
He stated, "I think this forms the basis for a judgment where profits are privatized and losses are shared," and added, "We also looked into their credibility and sincerity."
Regarding media reports that MBK Chairman Kim Byung-joo donated around 70 billion won of personal funds, he said, "There seems to be a tendency to frame this incident as related to an individual's sacrifice," and noted, "Mentioning a specific individual's contribution of several hundred million won obscures the essence of the incident."
Lee mentioned, "In previous incidents, it was common for major shareholders to responsibly implement capital reduction," and added, "Just because the major shareholder is a private equity fund does not mean that the management normalization process should be treated differently. It is necessary to seek heartfelt understanding and concessions from stakeholders."