This article was displayed on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove (MM) site at 10:48 a.m. on Jun. 16, 2026.
As bonds issued by affiliates of the JoongAng Media Group plunged together, large losses for individual investors are becoming a reality. Although a substantial amount of the bonds was issued to institutions, it is believed that institutions immediately moved to sell down (resell) the holdings, leaving most of them in the hands of individuals through securities firms' retail channels. The amount held by individuals is estimated to be in the hundreds of billions of won when combining JTBC, JoongAng Ilbo, and SLL JoongAng.
According to the financial investment industry on the 16th, on this day as well, affiliate on-exchange bond prices of the JoongAng Group fell to the lower limit as soon as the market opened. JoongAng Ilbo 43-2·47 and JTBC 36-2·41 were shown as down 30% from the previous trading day. Considering that affiliate bond prices also hit the lower limit the day before, the bond prices fell to below half just two days after the filing for commencement of rehabilitation became known.
Bonds of SLL JoongAng, which did not file for rehabilitation, were also hit. The price of SLL JoongAng 21 fell 30% immediately after the market opened that day. The price of SLL JoongAng 22 also hit the lower limit the previous day and was shown down 26.47% that day.
With the plunge that day, the yield on SLL JoongAng 21 reached an annualized 248.46%. This means an annual return of 248% if repaid normally, indicating that investors view the likelihood of normal repayment as low even though rehabilitation has not been filed.
In the investment banking (IB) industry, there is concern that the share held by individual investors is particularly high.
According to Hana Securities and the industry, JoongAng Group's total debt stood at about 2.8 trillion won at the end of last year. Of this, excluding bank loans, the market-based funding of affiliates such as corporate bonds, commercial paper (CP), short-term notes, and securitized debt is about 1.1 trillion won.
Of this, corporate bonds of JTBC, JoongAng Ilbo, and SLL JoongAng alone amount to 798.7 billion won. This suggests a high likelihood that a significant amount of this was taken on by individual investors or general corporations.
Initially, JoongAng Group issued only JTBC public corporate bonds, but even privately placed bonds mostly flowed to individuals. Because they are non-investment grade, securities firms underwrote the full amount and then resold to individuals.
Kim Sang-man, a Hana Securities analyst, said, "Because the affiliates' credit ratings are concentrated in BBB, which is classified as high-yield, the related exposure of major institutional investors such as long-term investors will not be large," and added, "Given demand from individual investors and general corporations seeking high interest, most of the bonds were likely sold through financial firms' retail channels."
Whether individual investors are repaid, and how much, depends on the outcome of the rehabilitation. The court plans to decide whether to commence rehabilitation within a month, during which creditors will participate in court-led negotiations on the rehabilitation plan. The potential sale of real estate and certain affiliates will be key. The headquarters building and the stake in affiliate SLL JoongAng are seen as having relatively good value, but the fact that both are pledged as collateral is a variable.
Meanwhile, on the 14th, JoongAng Group's holding company JoongAng Holdings, Contentree JoongAng, Megabox JoongAng, and JoongAng P&I filed for commencement of rehabilitation, followed by JTBC the day before. Contentree JoongAng, a listed company, has had its trading halted.