Small group of Home Plus workers continue 20-day hunger strike

SEOUL, June 2 (UPI) -- A small number of workers at South Korea's troubled discount chain, Home Plus, have been staging a hunger strike in central Seoul for 20 days, calling for a swift resolution to the company's ongoing financial crisis.

Home Plus union's secretary general, Choi Cheol-han, said many participants reached their physical limits after nearly three weeks of fasting in protest.

"A total of 20 employees joined the hunger strike in mid-May, but more than half have since stopped for various reasons. Some were hospitalized," Choi told UPI. "Those who remain are suffering from severe exhaustion and deteriorating health."

In 2015, MBK Partners, one of South Korea's largest private equity firms, acquired Home Plus from Tesco for $5 billion. But the retailer continued to face accumulating deficits in recent years due to the rapid rise of e-commerce platforms and the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In early 2025, the retailer entered a court-led corporate rehabilitation program. MBK Partners has sought to exit its investment for more than a year, but has yet to find a buyer.

"As far as we understand, the rehabilitation process can last only 18 months, which means that the fate of Home Plus should be determined by early September. We have less than 100 days left," Choi said.

"Only 25% of our April wages were paid, while our May salaries remain unpaid. Thousands of people left Home Plus this year alone. Against this backdrop, I am afraid that the company could ultimately be liquidated," he said.

The Home Plus union wants the appointment of United Asset Management, or UAMCO, a quasi-public restructuring specialist, as its new manager to pursue a government-led turnaround and sale process.

"More than anything else, it was a mistake to allow a private equity fund to purchase Home Plus with roughly 20,000 employees and another 80,000 workers at partner companies," Choi said.

"As MBK Partners failed to resolve the situation, we believe that the government should step in before it is too late."

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This story was originally published June 2, 2026 at 10:11 AM.