This article was displayed on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove (MM) site at 3:40 p.m. on Jun. 16, 2026.
Among financial companies in connection with the JoongAng Group affiliates' applications for rehabilitation proceedings, Hanyang Securities was analyzed to bear the greatest burden.
According to the investment banking (IB) industry and NICE Investors Service on the 16th, the amount that Hanyang Securities directly lent to or invested in JoongAng Group affiliates (credit exposure) totaled about 84 billion won. It consists of 54 billion won related to JTBC and 30 billion won related to JoongAng Ilbo.
Although Hanyang Securities does not have the largest absolute amount, its ratio of credit exposure to equity capital exposed to JoongAng Group affiliates was shown to be high. As of the end of March, Hanyang Securities' exposure reached about 13% of its equity capital (647.8 billion won).
According to NICE Investors Service, as of the 13th, the financial sector's credit exposure to JoongAng Group affiliates was about 1.32 trillion won. By sector, banks were the largest at 832.9 billion won, followed by special-purpose financial institutions (164.2 billion won), securities industry (125.1 billion won), and specialized credit finance (79.7 billion won).
NICE Investors Service explained that, based on a review of whether each financial company's exposure exceeds 0.5% of total assets and 2.0% of capital, only Hanyang Securities surpassed the thresholds. In this exposure tally, indirect investments such as financial companies' fund investments or SPC securitizations were excluded. For this reason, some analysts say the actual risk exposure could be larger.
Shin Seung-hwan, a senior researcher at NICE Investors Service, said, "The actual risk exposure by financial company could exceed the amount of direct credit exposure," and "we plan to review the status of actual exposures, the possibility of defaults, and the financial impact in the course of future credit rating evaluations of individual financial companies."
However, Hanyang Securities appears to have secured collateral for the exposure. Regarding JTBC, it has secured accounts receivable from broadcast program supply contracts, the head office building lease deposit (about 77 billion won), and a pledge on SLL JoongAng equity. Regarding JoongAng Ilbo, it has secured Town Board JoongAng accounts receivable and Kakao convertible bonds as collateral. But with JTBC entering rehabilitation proceedings, a deterioration in asset quality and a heavier burden to set aside provisions are considered unavoidable going forward.
Meanwhile, in Jul. last year, when institutional subscriptions fell short in the book-building for JTBC's 41st public bond issuance (50 billion won), Hanyang Securities directly underwrote the unsold 9.3 billion won and resold it to individuals and others (sell-down). This is separate from the 84 billion won exposure held by Hanyang Securities. Individual investors who purchased the bonds through Hanyang Securities are also within the scope of impact from this situation.
Shin said, "We will continue to monitor whether, in the course of underwriting and selling bonds or asset-backed securities, the products' risks were not properly explained to investors (misselling), whether this could hurt the company's reputation, and whether there will be long-term adverse effects on the bond and structured finance business."