Homeplus to Pay Only Half of January Wages...Union Condemns It as a "Token Gesture"

Management: "50% of unpaid wages to be paid on the 12th"
"Hard to meet payment dates for holiday bonuses and February salaries"
Mart Union condemns "admission of management’s incompetence and lies"

As Homeplus failed to pay salaries for executives and employees for January this year due to worsening liquidity, the company’s management announced that it would pay only half of the amount on the 12th, prompting a strong backlash from the labor union, which condemned this as a poorly prepared rehabilitation plan and an attempt by management to evade responsibility.

On the 6th, Homeplus issued a management message stating, "We deeply regret the situation in which wages have not been paid due to delays in obtaining consent for the rehabilitation plan," and added, "Although the current cash position is still far from sufficient, in order to at least partially alleviate the inconvenience employees are experiencing, we will secure funds by deferring payments of essential operating capital and pay 50% of the unpaid January salaries on February 12."

The Homeplus branch of the Mart Industry Labor Union, affiliated with the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, held a press conference on the 3rd near the Blue House in Jongno-gu, Seoul, to announce an indefinite hunger strike urging measures to resolve the Homeplus situation, and participants are chanting slogans. Yonhap News

However, management added that it would be difficult to meet the payment dates for the holiday bonus and the February salaries. At Homeplus, salaries are paid on the 21st of every month. Separately from this, the company has paid bonuses every year one week before each holiday. Management explained, "We are doing our utmost to secure a Debtor-in-Possession (DIP) emergency operating loan, but coordination with stakeholders has not been proceeding smoothly, causing delays," and continued, "Although we cannot clearly specify the payment date, we will do everything we can to pay the deferred salaries and bonuses as soon as our financial situation improves through the emergency operating loan."

The Homeplus labor union immediately protested the announcement. The Homeplus branch of the Mart Industry Labor Union, affiliated with the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, promptly issued a statement saying, "The message sent by the management is nothing more than a confession in which they admit their own incompetence and lies," and argued, "Until now, management has misled the workplace as if loans were not being approved because the Mart Union did not give its consent, but this announcement clearly reveals that the real cause of the loan delay is a 'failure to coordinate with stakeholders'." The union continued, "This means that the company itself has proven that its long-standing narrative of 'blaming the union' was a blatant deception," and criticized, "The real reason the loan is not being approved lies in the poor quality of the company’s rehabilitation plan, which has failed to convince even its creditors."

The Mart Industry Labor Union also stated, "We are outraged by the company’s attitude of hiding behind the token gesture of paying 50% of salaries ahead of the holiday while treating the non-payment of bonuses and the following month’s salaries as a matter of course," and urged, "The company must stop blaming others and immediately come up with practical self-rescue measures that will guarantee workers’ right to livelihood."