The prosecution has summoned Kim Byung-ju, chairman of MBK Partners, the major shareholder and private equity firm involved in the 'Homeplus incident,' as a suspect for investigation. This is the first face-to-face investigation in over seven months since the court dismissed the arrest warrant in January and the case was reassigned to a different investigation department.

The Anti-Corruption Investigation Division 2 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Lee Sang-hyuk) summoned Chairman Kim on the morning of the 10th as a suspect on charges of fraud under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes and violation of the Capital Markets Act (fraudulent unfair trading).

Chairman Kim and other executives are accused of issuing and selling a large amount of asset-backed short-term bonds (ABSTB) while concealing the downgrade of Homeplus's credit rating and signs of insolvency, then abruptly filing for corporate rehabilitation in court, causing massive losses to investors. In fact, Homeplus issued more than 110 billion won in short-term bonds during the ten days just before the credit rating downgrade and applied for court receivership within a few days, drawing strong criticism.

Previously, the Anti-Corruption Investigation Division 3 of the prosecution began investigating in April 2023 and requested arrest warrants for Chairman Kim, Vice Chairman Kim Kwang-il, and two other executives in January this year. However, the court dismissed the warrants, stating that "although the damage was significant, there was insufficient evidence to justify detention."

Subsequently, the Central District Prosecutors' Office reassigned the case to the Anti-Corruption Investigation Division 2, citing objective reexamination and the principle of separation between investigation and prosecution, and continued supplementary investigations.

Calls for strict investigation are growing in the political sphere as well. Min Byung-duk, senior deputy chairman of the Democratic Party's Policy Committee, said at the policy coordination meeting on the same day, "This delayed summons comes one year and five months after the investigation began. Regardless of efforts to save Homeplus, MBK must be held fully accountable for the legal responsibility for harming the livelihoods of workers, tenant companies, and bond investors."

The investigation team reportedly focused on questioning whether Chairman Kim directly ordered or was involved in the deceptive acts during the issuance of the short-term bonds, based on testimonies and physical evidence. As this investigation is seen as the final stage of the probe, the prosecution plans to decide soon whether to file final charges against Chairman Kim and other key executives based on the investigation results.

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