On the 17th, the prosecution searched the residence of Chairman Kim Byung-joo of MBK Partners in relation to the Homeplus incident. The prosecution suspects that Homeplus and MBK Partners may have deceived investors by selling large-scale bonds to individuals and corporations despite being aware of the credit rating downgrade in advance.
According to the legal community, the Anti-Corruption Investigation Division 3 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Director General Lee Seung-hak) executed a search warrant on Chairman Kim at Incheon International Airport at around 4:20 p.m. Chairman Kim is reported to have returned from a business trip to the United Kingdom on the same day.
Chairman Kim has been accused of fraud under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes and violation of the Capital Markets Act in connection with the Homeplus incident.
Homeplus announced on February 28 that its credit rating had been downgraded from the existing A3 to A3-, just one notch above the speculative grade (B). Homeplus filed for corporate rehabilitation with the court early on March 4, four days later. The court has issued a comprehensive prohibition order, and the rehabilitation process is underway.
The problem is that Homeplus sold bonds worth 82.9 billion won through Shinyoung Securities on February 25, three days before the credit rating downgrade. The amount of 82.9 billion won is approximately half of the asset-backed electronic short-term bonds (ABSTB) issued by Homeplus in February.
In response, investors in the electronic short-term bonds of Shinyoung Securities and Homeplus have filed complaints with the prosecution against Chairman Kim Byung-joo of MBK and others on fraud charges. Earlier, on the 28th of last month, the prosecution also conducted searches at the headquarters of Homeplus and MBK Partners, as well as the residences of Chairman Kim, Vice Chairman Kim Kwang-il, and Homeplus CEO Cho Joo-yeon.
Separately from the complaint case, the Financial Services Commission has referred the fraud case of Homeplus and MBK to the prosecution. Financial authorities suspect that Homeplus and MBK, while being aware of the potential for a credit rating downgrade and preparing for corporate rehabilitation, continued to sell bonds. If they sold bonds knowing that filing for corporate rehabilitation would freeze financial debts, it could be considered deceptive conduct.