Meritz Financial Group urged MBK Partners, the largest shareholder of Homeplus, to provide responsible funding support and pursue self-help measures. It argued that for Homeplus to return to normal, its top shareholder should first present plans to bear losses and inject funds before creditors provide support.

Meritz said in a statement on June 18 that MBK Partners claims it has no capacity for additional support for Homeplus and is shifting the burden to creditors.

Meritz said MBK Partners has introduced itself as Northeast Asia’s largest private equity fund. It estimated MBK’s assets under management at about $32.5 billion, or about 50 trillion won. Considering industry-standard base management fees and performance fees tied to investment results, it said MBK would likely be earning substantial profits.

It also cited that MBK Partners founder Michael Kim (김병주) has estimated assets of $9.9 billion and ranked second in the 2026 Forbes list of South Korea’s richest people.

Meritz also noted that MBK Partners said in its annual letter in March that it paid $1.7 billion in distributions to investors last year. It said Buyout Fund 3, which includes Homeplus, posted a 15.4 percent return last year despite the failed investment in Homeplus.

Meritz said, "MBK Partners, as Homeplus’ largest shareholder and the holder of management control, is the party that must bear the greatest responsibility for this situation." It said MBK is "sharing in investment-result profits with investors while seeking to shift the burden from management failure onto creditors."

It added that it "has fulfilled its role and responsibility as a creditor" in the process of providing financial support for Homeplus. It stressed that the top shareholder must first present self-help efforts and a funding support plan at a level the market can accept.

It said that for Homeplus to return to normal, the top shareholder’s responsible capital injection and loss sharing must come first. It said the market cannot gain trust "through a method that privatizes profits and socializes losses."