Visitors to a Homeplus store in Gangseo District in southwestern Seoul line up before the store's 10 a.m. opening, Thursday. The hypermarket reopened after 31 days of temporary closure due to a liquidity problem. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk
SEOUL/SEONGNAM, Gyeonggi Province — People started showing up in front of the main entrance of the Homeplus in southwestern Seoul's Gangseo District before its 10 a.m. opening Thursday. Some 30 minutes before, the crowd of mostly older adults began lining up in front of the local outlet. For the past 31 days, the store has remained closed as the company temporarily suspended operations due to a lack of operating funds during the rehabilitation process.
The store is back in business after a Seoul court gave the cash-strapped retailer another chance, with the new deadline for court approval of its rehabilitation plan set for Sept. 4.
One woman who lives in the vicinity said she had learned about the store’s reopening, noting that before the temporary closure of 67 outlets on July 13, shelves at the Homeplus Gangseo were nearly empty.
“There were no eggs, no milk. But I still came here today because prices are often on sale and affordable,” she said.
