South Korea’s Homeplus announced on Oct. 7 that it has launched a voluntary retirement program as it seeks to cut fixed costs and stabilize operations after sharply reducing its store network during its prolonged financial difficulties.

The troubled discount chain noted that it began accepting applications Wednesday and will continue through Oct. 22. Employees who participate are scheduled to leave the company Oct. 31.

The retailer said that unpaid wages, Chuseok holiday bonuses and statutory severance payments for participating employees are scheduled to be paid Nov. 14.

Homeplus has not set a target for the number of employees it hopes will participate.

The program will be carried out within the limits of available operating funds and could be closed early or canceled depending on the company’s financial situation.

The move comes as Homeplus has dramatically reduced its operations during its court-led rehabilitation process.

The company operated 126 stores before entering rehabilitation but now runs just 67 after closing underperforming locations. About half of its employees are currently on paid leave, according to Homeplus.

Homeplus said that the reduction in stores has left it with an excessive fixed-cost burden relative to sales, prompting the company to turn to voluntary retirement.

“We will do our utmost to achieve an early normalization by improving business viability through structural innovation and accelerating the normalization of operations,” a Homeplus representative said.

The latest restructuring marks another chapter in the difficulties facing Homeplus, once one of South Korea’s largest discount store operators.

Private equity firm MBK Partners acquired Homeplus from British retailer Tesco in 2015 in a multi-billion-dollar deal. Once the country’s second-largest discount store chain, Homeplus operated more than 140 stores at its peak.

In subsequent years, however, the retailer came under mounting pressure as South Korea’s traditional hypermarket industry lost ground amid changing consumer habits and growing competition from online shopping platforms.

Homeplus eventually entered court-led rehabilitation in March 2025. A rehabilitation plan was subsequently approved by the court on Sept. 2.

As a result, MBK Partners, which is headed by Chairman Michael Byungju Kim, strives to find a new owner for Homeplus.

Read more @newsarticleinsiders