On the 4th, the Homeplus branch of the Mart Industry Labor Union sent an open letter to President Lee Jae-myung, pleading for the new government to prevent the large-scale store closures of Homeplus, which is undergoing corporate rehabilitation procedures.
The union stated, "The management is pushing to close 36 out of 126 stores," adding, "Academics predict that the number of unemployed people could reach up to 330,000 due to the decrease in sales of directly hired workers and the local businesses within a 3 km radius, and the socioeconomic losses could amount to about 10 trillion won."
The union estimated that the socioeconomic loss due to the closure of one large mart store would be 270 billion won, including wage loss for 945 direct employees and 7,898 indirect employees, as well as decreased sales in surrounding businesses and supply chain disruptions.
It emphasized, "This has a high possibility of emerging as a national disaster throughout President Lee Jae-myung's term," and added, "The rehabilitation plan for Homeplus should be a long-term and sustainable management plan, rather than short-term closures and asset partitioning sales."
The union urged, "If the rehabilitation proceeds according to the method of the major shareholder MBK Partners, significant losses are expected for the national pension fund that invested about 900 billion won, which is the public's retirement fund," and called for a firm response prioritizing the people's right to survival and the protection of the livelihood economy.
Homeplus notified the termination of contracts at 27 stores during the rent negotiations with the landlords, and decided to close 9 stores, including the Dongdaemun store, before the initiation of rehabilitation.
The management explained that the notification of contract termination was to prevent the expiration of the termination rights during the rent negotiations with the landlords, but the union expresses concerns about a chain of closures.