This article was displayed on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove (MM) site at 4:27 p.m. on May 8, 2026.
JoongAng Group, where liquidity crisis risks are coming to the fore due to a failed investment attraction and a credit rating downgrade, has pulled out a plan to sell three assets in a bundle, including its headquarters buildings, but even if the sale goes through, observers say the cash in hand would be small, requiring additional funding.
Industry assessments are that even if the three assets are sold in a bundle for 550 billion won, the cash inflow may fall short of 200 billion won. That is far below the 300 billion won loan size JoongAng Group previously negotiated with a global credit manager.
According to the investment banking (IB) industry on the 8th, JoongAng Group recently decided to sell three assets in a bundle, including the JoongAng Ilbo·JTBC headquarters in Mapo, Seoul, and the JTBC Studio in Ilsan. The goal is asset securitization through a sale-and-leaseback (sell and then lease back), and global real estate services corporations Colliers Korea has been hired as the sell-side adviser.
JoongAng Group is said to be hoping for an amount in the mid-500 billion won or higher range as a bundled sale condition. The group is also reportedly set to pursue a plan under which it signs a long-term master lease of around 10 years with the buyer and continues to use all existing office space and production infrastructure as is.
The driver behind the asset securitization push is cited as the financial burden accumulated across the group. SLL JoongAng and Contentree JoongAng, core content affiliates of JoongAng Group, have recently faced repeated difficulties in attracting investment and raising funds. It is known that more than 300 billion won must be repaid by the end of June.
However, assessments are that selling the headquarters buildings alone will not be enough to ease the group's overall liquidity pressures.
The three assets, including the JoongAng Ilbo·JTBC headquarters and the JTBC Studio in Ilsan, are currently split between JoongAng Holdings, the JoongAng Group holding company, and JoongAng P&I, the group's real estate leasing affiliate and the largest shareholder of Contentree JoongAng. All have collateral in place, and the maximum claim amounts and priority distribution limits exceed 400 billion won.
First, the JTBC Building (1650 Sangam-dong, B6–21F) is owned by the holding company JoongAng Holdings, and four mortgage liens have been registered in favor of Hana Bank and Hana Capital. The maximum claim amounts are 84.5 billion won (2020), 23.5 billion won (2020), 12 billion won (2023), and 18 billion won (2023), totaling 138 billion won.
The heaviest debt burden is at the JoongAng Ilbo Building (1651 Sangam-dong, B6–21F). It is owned by JoongAng P&I, but a real estate collateral trust has been set with Woori Asset Trust. The total priority distribution limit amounts to 228 billion won, including 96 billion won for the first-priority beneficiary Standard Chartered Bank Korea and 66 billion won for Woori Bank.
JoongAng P&I acquired the DMCC Building in 2019 and renamed it the JoongAng Ilbo Building. The transaction amount listed in the registry's sales ledger is 169 billion won. Based on the priority distribution limit, the collateral set exceeds the purchase price by more than 30%. Even considering an increase in real estate value, the consensus is that it is in a "full loan" state.
The situation is no different for the JTBC Studio in Ilsan (1778 Janghang-dong, B1–6F). JoongAng Holdings set a collateral trust on the JTBC Studio with Hana Bank, and a 78 billion won beneficial right has been recorded. As of early 2024, the collateral set amount was 52.7 billion won, but it increased by more than 25 billion won with additional borrowing.
The industry expects that even if the sale-and-leaseback is completed, the cash JoongAng Group will secure will remain around 200 billion won. Even considering that maximum claim amounts and priority distribution limits are typically set at about 120% of the actual loan principal, the outstanding loan balance tied up in the three buildings exceeds 380 billion won.
In fact, according to a special provision in the JoongAng Ilbo Building trust agreement that JoongAng P&I signed with Woori Asset Trust, the priority distribution limit is set at 120% of the actual debt amount. The estimated actual loan is thus 190 billion won, but after factoring in advisory fees and various taxes, the cash could fall below 200 billion won.
Given the circumstances, the financial sector is assessing that selling the headquarters buildings alone is unlikely to improve the capital structure. In addition to the 120 billion won CB repayment, Contentree JoongAng also faces a schedule to pay 170 billion won by next month for acquiring shares related to SLL JoongAng's convertible preferred stock.
The group-level financial burden has already expanded considerably. Borrowing fund (including bonds) at JoongAng Ilbo, regarded as effectively the group's only profitable affiliate, swelled from 118.9 billion won at the end of 2021 to 289.9 billion won at the end of last year, and payment guarantees provided to affiliates such as JoongAng Ilbo M&P alone totaled 225 billion won.
Meanwhile, Contentree JoongAng had pursued a plan to raise 300 billion won at an annual rate exceeding 15% from global credit manager Ares Management, but it recently fell through. As concerns over the content industry and the group's financial structure deepened, SLL JoongAng recently failed to even meet its target amount in the corporate bond market.
The market is also suggesting that JoongAng Group could move to streamline affiliates. The sale of headquarters buildings such as the JoongAng Ilbo Building effectively involves selling properties whose substantial portion of assets has already been filled with "other people's money," and after the sale-and-leaseback, the annual rent burden for the entire buildings is likely to rise further.
A source at a securities firms real estate finance division said, "There is also a way to push for a sale at over 600 billion won by setting the future rent to be paid to the buyer slightly higher than market rates," but added, "In that case, while surplus cash would be generated, it creates a structure where future operating expenses (rent) increase."
A JoongAng Group representative said, "We are reviewing ways to improve financial soundness and secure capacity to invest in core businesses," adding, "Specifics related to asset securitization, such as pushing for a bundled sale of three assets including the JoongAng Ilbo·JTBC headquarters and the JTBC Studio in Ilsan, have not been finalized."
Meanwhile, in the on-exchange bond market, corporate bonds of JoongAng Group affiliates such as JoongAng Ilbo and SLL JoongAng rebounded across the board on the 8th on expectations of a bundled sale of the buildings. In the case of the SLL JoongAng 18-2 corporate bond, it rebounded for the first time since Apr. 21 and recovered to an annual yield of 20%. The product matures on Mar. 19 next year, and on the 7th, its price had fallen to a level where the yield would exceed 30% if repaid normally.