Regulators urged to investigate Lotte Card

SEOUL, April 17 (UPI) -- Rep. Lee In-young of the ruling Democratic Party urged regulators to investigate Lotte Card, claiming the issuer had taken on the losses linked to troubled discount chain Home Plus.

Lee said Thursday that Lotte Card has classified its $54 million worth of receivables related to Home Plus as estimated losses. He criticized both companies' owner, MBK Partners, one of Asia's leading private equity funds.

According to data from Lee's office, Lotte Card's transaction volume involving Home Plus purchase cards surged more than 10 times over two years, from $51 million in 2022 to $540 million in 2024.

Under the structure, when Home Plus paid its accounts payable to suppliers using purchase cards, Lotte Card advanced funds and later recovered payments from Home Plus.

As Home Plus entered court receivership in early 2025, Lotte Card seemingly was unable to fully collect those funds, Lee's office said.

"Put simply, Lotte Card bore the losses for money, which Home Plus failed to repay," Lee said in a social media post. "Financial authorities should thoroughly examine the funding structures within private equity firms and potential conflicts of interest."

Meanwhile, the Financial Supervisory Service convened a committee Thursday to review Lotte Card's data breach case, but did not reach a final decision. Last year, personal data of nearly 3 million Lotte Card customers were found to have been leaked.

The financial watchdog has reportedly issued a preliminary notification to suspend the business of Lotte Card for 4 1/2 months over the accident.

In 2019, MBK Partners teamed up with domestic lender Woori Bank to buy a 79.8% stake in Lotte Card for about $1 billion.

Four years earlier, MBK acquired Home Plus from Tesco for $5 billion. In recent years, however, the retailer has faced mounting challenges due to the virus pandemic and the rapid growth of e-commerce platforms.

Home Plus has undergone a court-led rehabilitation program, while trying to find a new owner, though without success.

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This story was originally published April 17, 2026 at 7:14 AM.