 |
| ▲ Kim Byung-ju, chairman of private equity firm MBK Partners, arrives at the Seoul Central District Court in southern Seoul on Jan. 13, 2026, to attend his arrest warrant hearing. (Yonhap) |
court-MBK Partners
Court rejects arrest warrant for chairman of MBK Partners
By Yi Wonju
SEOUL, Jan. 14 (Yonhap) -- A Seoul court on Wednesday rejected warrants to arrest the chairman of private equity firm MBK Partners, Kim Byung-ju and three other senior executives over sales of short-term bonds of troubled retailer Homeplus Co.
The Seoul Central District Court said it denied the warrants, citing insufficient evidence to justify detention and a lack of concerns about flight or evidence tampering.
Last week, prosecutors sought arrest warrants for Kim and the other executives, including a co-chief executive of Homeplus, on charges of fraud and violation of the Capital Markets Act.
MBK Partners acquired a 100 percent stake in Homeplus in 2015 from British retailer Tesco Plc for 7.2 trillion won (US$4.9 billion). The retailer, however, became financially strapped due to a slump in the discount store industry and eventually entered court-led rehabilitation proceedings in March last year.
MBK Partners has been accused of allegedly selling a large-scale short-term bond of Homeplus around the time of the credit downgrade for the retailer.
On Feb. 28 last year, Korea Ratings downgraded its credit rating of Homeplus to "A3 minus" from "A3." Four days later, Homeplus asked a court to grant rehabilitation proceedings.
(END)
(C) Yonhap News Agency. All Rights Reserved
