Homeplus to close 5 stores in Nov.

[Anchor]

Homeplus, which is undergoing corporate rehabilitation procedures, recently announced that it will close 15 stores.

Among these, five stores will close immediately in November, which is less than three months away.

Both employees and tenant merchants are feeling anxious and helpless.

Reporter Kim Chae-rin has covered the situation on-site.

[Report]

On a weekday afternoon, I visited a Homeplus in the metropolitan area.

Many of the shelves were empty.

Even staple items like ramen, instant rice, and milk were sparsely stocked.

After it was confirmed that this store would close in November, the inventory is not being replenished properly.

[Cashier/voice altered: "Before the closure, we will probably finish up a lot. (So you’re not bringing in new stock?) That's right, not anymore."]

Another store that will close in November.

As soon as I entered, the first floor was completely empty.

In the quiet atmosphere, only 2 out of 9 cash registers were open.

The employees working silently are feeling the weight of the uncertainty.

[Homeplus Employee: "I've spent most of the last 25 years here. It's almost like my life. I feel helpless and anxious about my employment..."]

The five stores closing in November employ about 490 people in total.

The company says it will transfer them to other stores, but it is not as simple as it sounds.

[Choo Yeon-kyung/Homeplus Employee: "It could be a situation where I have to travel an hour and a half to get to work. I think I might have to quit."]

The news of the closures is also a shock to local residents.

[Local Resident of Closing Store: "It's inconvenient for people like us. We’ve all given up our driver's licenses. So where do we go...?"]

Tenant merchants are equally at a loss.

[Homeplus Tenant Merchant: "Honestly, I wouldn't have invested in this if I was only going to do it for two years. They just sent a notice and unilaterally informed us of the closure..."]

They are worried about losing their security deposits as well.

[Homeplus Tenant Merchant/voice altered: "The rental deposit is 26.5 million won; will I get it back in full? I’m really anxious about that."]

The Homeplus stores scheduled to close by May next year make up about 12% of the total.

The major shareholder, MBK Partners, cited failed rent adjustment negotiations as the reason for the closures, but there are criticisms that there was no intention to negotiate from the beginning.

This is KBS News, Kim Chae-rin.