The Korea Times
Homeplus, an ailing Korean retailer undergoing a rehabilitation process, said Sunday it has once again urged its largest creditor, Meritz Financial Group, to approve a loan to sustain immediate business operations. The discount chain store operator earlier this month made the same request to Meritz but did not receive any response. As part of efforts to secure liquidity, Homeplus recently sold its smaller supermarket unit Homeplus Express, and temporarily suspended operations at 37 of its 104 main stores on May 10. The company, however, said in its latest statement that under its current financial predicament it can no longer afford to run its remaining stores. The company delayed paying wages starting last month. “Since Meritz has secured most of our major assets as collateral, there is no way for us to independently secure operating funds. At this point, Meritz is the only entity that can provide emergency operating fund loans,” the statement said. “It is nearly impossible for a retail company to normalize its business once its operations are suspended. If even the remaining 67 st
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