This article was displayed on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove (MM) site at 4:40 p.m. on Apr. 16, 2026.
Woongjin group has begun refinancing part of the funds it borrowed when it acquired the funeral service firm Preedlife last year. With the lead investor DB Securities exercising an early redemption option (put option) on 100 billion won, Woongjin is in a position where it must secure repayment resources by the end of June.
According to the investment banking (IB) industry on the 16th, DB Financial Investment recently notified Woongjin group of the exercise of a put option worth 100 billion won. This corresponds to half of the 200 billion won that Woongjin raised on the group's own credit when it acquired Preedlife in June last year.
At the time, Woongjin group financed the entire 900 billion won acquisition price for Preedlife from external sources. Of this, excluding 600 billion won in acquisition financing, 300 billion won was filled with funds of an equity credit nature based on the group's credit. The acquisition financing was raised in two tranches—500 billion won senior and 100 billion won mezzanine—while the equity credit carried a more junior profile.
Of the 300 billion won in equity credit, 100 billion won was issued as a 30-year perpetual bond. The remaining 200 billion won has a nominal maturity of three years, but includes a condition allowing the lead investor to demand early redemption after one year. In effect, it was a bond with the characteristics of a one-year short-term instrument. The loan is secured by tangible assets, including Rexfield Country Club (CC) and Woongjin Playdoci, which are core assets of Woongjin group.
DB Securities exercised the put option on 100 billion won, half of the 200 billion won, and as a result, Woongjin must repay it by the end of June.
Woongjin group is said to have immediately begun refinancing. As selling collateral assets such as Rexfield CC at the desired price right away is not easy, the strategy is to take out a new loan through another securities firm to repay the DB Securities debt. Woongjin is reportedly hoping for about 300 billion won from the sale of Rexfield CC.
According to the IB industry, multiple securities firms are understood to be in contact with Woongjin to take on this refinancing tranche. An official at a securities firm said, "At 100 billion won, it is an amount that a single securities house can absorb," adding, "The key will be which institution offers the lowest rate." The industry believes that if competition heats up, Woongjin could secure favorable terms not only on rates but also on maturity, repayment conditions, and arrangement fees.
A Woongjin group official said, "It is not that DB Securities has formally exercised the put option; we are working to extend the maturity and lower the rate on a short-term borrowing fund that has an early redemption option."