SEOUL, Oct. 21 (UPI) -- South Korea's National Pension Service admitted during a parliamentary hearing that its investment in troubled discount chain Home Plus had failed.
When private equity fund MBK Partners acquired Home Plus in 2015 through a $5.1 billion deal financed by a mix of equity and debt, the pension service also participated. Its losses are reportedly about $630 million, as Home Plus has been under court receivership since March.
"The investment decision made in 2015 was a considerable failure," Chief Investment Officer Seo Won-joo told lawmakers Monday during the National Assembly audit.
Seo was responding to a request by Rep. Min Byung-deok of the ruling Democratic Party to apologize to people over "the $630 million losses."
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