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FSS Moves to Sanction MBK Partners Over Homeplus, Proposes Suspension

A disciplinary committee will decide the penalty on Dec. 18, with heavier measures requiring Financial Services Commission approval.

Overview

  • The preliminary notice is the first move to suspend a general partner of an institutional private equity fund in Korea.
  • Regulators are probing whether changes to RCPS redemption terms near a Homeplus credit downgrade harmed investors, including the National Pension Service, which invested 582.6 billion won.
  • MBK Partners said the RCPS change aimed to prevent a sudden downgrade and preserve Homeplus’s value, adding it will cooperate and explain its position in the review.
  • Possible sanctions range from institutional caution to a dismissal recommendation, and penalties above a suspension would advance to the Financial Services Commission after the Dec. 18 review.
  • The scope of any suspension remains uncertain, and institutional investors such as the NPS could restrict new commitments to MBK if the firm receives a warning or stronger penalty.