This article was displayed on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove (MM) site at 4:51 p.m. on Jun. 15, 2026.
Five core affiliates of JoongAng Group have applied to commence corporate rehabilitation proceedings and will face a court decision. according to legal sources on the 15th, the Seoul Bankruptcy Court assigned the cases seeking the commencement of rehabilitation proceedings for five companies—JoongAng Holdings, JTBC, Contentree JoongAng, Megabox JoongAng and JoongAng P&I—to the Rehabilitation Division 2. It came two days after JTBC fell into a state of default by failing to repay a 20.6 billion won securitized borrowing fund by the deadline, with the group's holding company, key operating companies, and real estate and equity holding entities in quick succession asking for the court's protection.
JoongAng Group had been covering maturing short-term borrowings through inter-affiliate lending, payment guarantees and collateral provision, but recently it has become increasingly impossible to raise new external funds or extend existing borrowings, suggesting that this internal cash-circulation method has also hit its limit.
◇ JoongAng Holdings at the "top of the governance structure" also files for rehabilitation
JoongAng Holdings, which applied for corporate rehabilitation on the day, is the holding company at the apex of JoongAng Group's governance structure. Vice Chairman Hong Jeong-do is the largest shareholder with 55.8% equity, CEO Hong Jeong-in of Contentree JoongAng holds 37.2%, and JoongAng Holdings Chairman Hong Seok-hyun has 7%.
JoongAng Holdings owns 64.7% equity of JoongAng Ilbo, 25% equity of JTBC, 100% equity of JTBC JoongAng, and 100% equity of JoongAng P&I. JoongAng Ilbo also holds 5% equity of JTBC and 2.4% equity of Contentree JoongAng. In other words, JoongAng Holdings sits at the top of the control axis that runs through the newspaper, broadcasting and content affiliates.
JoongAng P&I is a wholly owned subsidiary of JoongAng Holdings and serves as a key bridge connecting JoongAng Holdings and Contentree JoongAng within the group's governance structure. JoongAng P&I holds 38.6% equity of Contentree JoongAng, which in turn holds 53.8% equity of SLL JoongAng, 59.4% equity of Phoenix Sports, and 96% equity of Megabox JoongAng.
The remaining 4% equity of Megabox JoongAng is owned by JoongAng Multiplex Development, which is 77.3% owned by JoongAng P&I and 22.7% owned by Dabo JoongAng. Subsidiaries of Megabox JoongAng include Playtime JoongAng (100% equity) and Mega Ice Box (65%).
◇ Contentree JoongAng, the group's funding conduit... Megabox share is overwhelming
The most important axis in this rehabilitation filing is "Contentree JoongAng–Megabox JoongAng." Contentree JoongAng is a listed company and an intermediate holding company for the content division, but recently it has served as a funding conduit for group companies.
Inter-affiliate lending by Contentree JoongAng is overwhelmingly concentrated in Megabox JoongAng. As of the end of last year, the outstanding balance of lending that Contentree JoongAng extended to JoongAng Holdings, Megabox JoongAng, HLL JoongAng and Phoenix Sports totaled 231.9 billion won. Of that, lending to Megabox JoongAng stood at 168 billion won, exceeding 72% of the total. That is 2.6 times the combined lending to JoongAng Holdings, HLL JoongAng and Phoenix Sports (63.9 billion won).
Support from Contentree JoongAng for Megabox did not stop at lending. Contentree JoongAng provided a liquidity support and conditional debt assumption agreement to a special purpose company (SPC) in connection with Megabox JoongAng's hybrid capital borrowing fund. There were also transactions in which Contentree JoongAng repurchased, or reacquired after maturity collection, the electronic short-term bonds issued by Megabox JoongAng. Although structured as purchases of electronic short-term bonds, in substance Contentree JoongAng was supporting the refinancing of Megabox JoongAng's short-term borrowings.
Funding support for Phoenix Sports and Playtime JoongAng was carried out in a similar way. Phoenix Sports is a sports investment company 59.4% owned by Contentree JoongAng and 40.6% by SLL JoongAng.
When Phoenix Sports borrowed from an external SPC, Contentree JoongAng provided a guarantee, and Megabox JoongAng provided its Playtime JoongAng shares as collateral. Contentree JoongAng also provided guarantees for Playtime JoongAng's separate borrowings. The structure is that Contentree JoongAng supports Megabox, Megabox puts up Playtime equity as collateral, and Phoenix borrowings carry both Contentree JoongAng guarantees and Megabox collateral. Rather than each affiliate borrowing on its own, they have been shoring up short-term liquidity by rotating each other's equity and credit.
The reason JoongAng Holdings also applied for rehabilitation lies in this internal cash-circulation structure. As the holding company at the top of the group, JoongAng Holdings is assessed to have acted as a window that drew in affiliate funds to manage group liquidity.
As of the end of last year, Contentree JoongAng lent 40 billion won to JoongAng Holdings, and JoongAng Ilbo also lent 45 billion won to JoongAng Holdings. JoongAng P&I likewise provided short-term lending to JoongAng Holdings. On one side, funds flowed up to the holding company from JoongAng Ilbo, Contentree JoongAng and JoongAng P&I, while on the other side, Contentree JoongAng propped up the borrowings of Megabox JoongAng, Phoenix Sports and Playtime JoongAng through methods such as lending and guarantees.
◇ SLL JoongAng, into which FIs invested, left off the rehabilitation list
SLL JoongAng, by contrast, did not apply for corporate rehabilitation on the day. SLL is a core affiliate in the content institutional sector, 53.8% owned by Contentree JoongAng. Under it are production companies including Hi-Zium Studio, Climax Studio, Production H, BA Entertainment and Film Monster.
Unlike Megabox JoongAng, SLL JoongAng was not an entity for which Contentree JoongAng directly resolved liquidity issues through lending and short-term note purchases. Rather, it is more reasonable to view it as a core asset underpinning the value of Contentree JoongAng's content business and as an affiliate at the center of fulfilling shareholder agreements with financial investors (FI) and of governance restructuring.
In March this year, Contentree JoongAng disclosed that it would raise its equity stake in SLL JoongAng to 63% by acquiring additional equity, and in that process JoongAng Holdings provided SLL JoongAng shares as collateral to fulfill a shareholder agreement with Praxis Capital Partner. SLL JoongAng shares were used as key collateral in the group's liquidity procurement and contract performance process.
◇ Vice Chairman Hong Jeong-do: "No suspension of core businesses such as the World Cup"
Meanwhile, JoongAng Group stressed that it will continue its core businesses without interruption even after entering corporate rehabilitation proceedings. Vice Chairman Hong Jeong-do of JoongAng Group wrote in an email to all employees, "Rehabilitation proceedings are not a procedure to wind down a company," adding, "Under court supervision, it is a system to adjust debt and continue operations to normalize the company, and the principle is that the existing management continues management as administrators."
Hong presented the group's position to reporters at the JoongAng Ilbo headquarters in Sangam-dong, Seoul, in the afternoon. Hong said, "We did our utmost to stabilize management, but for various reasons, including a funding squeeze caused by the deterioration of external economic conditions and a downgrade in our credit rating, we could not avoid today's unavoidable choice," adding, "We will make every effort for employment stability, and each company's essential business, including broadcasting of the North and Central America World Cup, will continue normal operations without interruption."