MBK: "Prosecution Misunderstood Our Normalization Efforts... We Will Clarify Sincerely"

Dismissed After Record-Breaking 14-Hour Warrant Review

The arrest warrants for Kim Byungju, Chairman of MBK Partners, who is accused of fraud involving approximately 100 billion won, and four other executives have all been dismissed. MBK has stated that it will faithfully clarify its position in the upcoming legal proceedings.

On January 14, MBK released a statement saying, "The prosecution has misunderstood the efforts of MBK Partners and Homeplus to normalize the company through rehabilitation," and added, "We understand that the court's decision to dismiss the arrest warrants acknowledges that the positions of MBK Partners and Homeplus are reasonable in terms of the legal principles and facts of the case."

The statement continued, "We have endured responsible decisions to normalize the company through rehabilitation, and we will continue to do our best for the company's normalization. MBK Partners and Homeplus will also diligently clarify their positions based on facts and legal principles in future legal proceedings."

Earlier, Park Jungho, Chief Judge in charge of warrants at the Seoul Central District Court, dismissed all arrest warrants for Chairman Kim, MBK Vice Chairman Kim Kwangil (CEO of Homeplus), MBK Vice President Kim Junghwan, and Homeplus Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Lee Sungjin in the early hours of the day. The warrant review, which began at 10 a.m. the previous day, lasted about 13 hours and 40 minutes until 11:40 p.m., with the decision made early in the morning. This marks the longest warrant review since the system was introduced.

Judge Park explained the reason for the dismissal, stating, "While the consequences of the incident are undoubtedly very serious, the evidence submitted so far is insufficient to justify detention." He added, "There may need to be sufficient analysis and impeachment processes regarding subjective elements such as intent, and proof or evaluation based on logic. Considering the degree of substantiation and the progress of the investigation, it is more appropriate to grant sufficient opportunity for defense without detention, rather than detaining the suspects due to concerns about destruction of evidence or flight."

Previously, the Third Anti-Corruption Investigation Division of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office (Acting Chief Prosecutor Kim Bongjin) requested arrest warrants for the suspects on January 7 on charges including fraud under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes and violations of the Capital Markets Act. Chairman Kim and the other executives are accused of issuing large-scale asset-backed short-term bonds (ABSTB) despite anticipating a downgrade in Homeplus’s credit rating, and then abruptly filing for corporate rehabilitation, causing losses to securities firms such as Shin Young Securities that had purchased the bonds.

Kim Byungju, chairman of MBK Partners, who is accused of fraud involving about 100 billion won related to the Homeplus incident, is attending the pre-arrest detention hearing at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul on January 13, 2026. Photo by Jo Yongjun