On March 11, eight Homeplus workers stood at Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul, each holding a sign urging the government to find solutions for the Homeplus crisis. The workers, led by labor union leaders An Su-yong and Kang Woo-cheol, were on their ninth day of a hunger strike, having walked a path that took almost two hours to cover—a route they normally would walk in just 15 minutes. They called for immediate government intervention as the deadline for a court-sanctioned restructuring plan approaches, alarming the workers who fear imminent bankruptcy of the retail giant.

As the home improvement retailer is undergoing corporate rehabilitation, it faces a deadline of March 3 to submit a satisfactory recovery plan, failing which it could go bankrupt, affecting not just its 20,000 employees but also about 100,000 people relying on connected businesses and suppliers. During their protests, An Su-yong emphasized the urgency of the situation, expressing that time is running out for Homeplus to secure a viable plan to avoid liquidation. This is the third time he is participating in a hunger strike since May 2022, indicating the critical nature of the issue and the desperation of the workers.

The court has requested the major shareholder, MBK Partners, to revise their proposed recovery plan by March 13, but with limited time left, anxiety is growing among workers and those connected to the retailer. Should Homeplus declare bankruptcy, many livelihoods are at stake, prompting these desperate protests in an effort to prevent an economic catastrophe that would ripple through the local economy and the jobs of those dependent on the company’s operations.