Overview
- Seoul Central District Court will hold a hearing next Tuesday to decide on arrest warrants for MBK founder Michael Byung-ju Kim and three other executives, with a decision possible the same day.
- Prosecutors named Homeplus CEO and MBK Vice Chair Kim Kwang-il, MBK Vice President Kim Jeong-hwan and Homeplus CFO Lee Sung-jin, citing suspected violations of the Capital Markets Act and aggravated economic-crime statutes.
- Investigators say the executives oversaw about 82 billion won in asset-backed short-term bonds in February 2025 while anticipating a credit-rating downgrade, with Korea Ratings cutting Homeplus to A3- on Feb. 28 and receivership filed four days later.
- MBK denies the allegations, calls the arrest bid excessive, says Michael Kim cooperated with questioning and appeared before the National Assembly, and plans to challenge the warrant requests in court.
- The Financial Supervisory Service has signaled disciplinary measures that could include a business suspension, Homeplus remains under court-led restructuring, and industry sources say the case could weigh on MBK’s Korea Zinc campaign and the stance of the National Pension Service.