Kakao Pay and Toss Pay have halted the payment gateway (PG) services they were providing to Megabox. As Megabox entered rehabilitation proceedings and its credit rating fell, major PG firms appear to be pulling back.
According to ChosunBiz reporting compiled on the 19th, since the afternoon of the previous day, Kakao Pay and Toss Pay have not been available for online movie bookings at Megabox. Both Kakao Pay and Toss Pay have disappeared from the list of simple payment services available at checkout.
A Toss Pay official said, "With Megabox JoongAng applying for rehabilitation proceedings, uncertainty has increased around settlement of payment funds and processing of refunds. To prevent customers from being unable to use services after payment or suffering delays in refunds, we have temporarily restricted new Toss Pay payments at Megabox," and added, "We will review whether to resume once the settlement structure and customer protection measures are confirmed."
Earlier, JTBC, a core affiliate of JoongAng Group, declared a default on the 12th after failing to repay 20.6 billion won in securitized borrowing fund on time. After that, the holding company JoongAng Holdings and Megabox JoongAng also applied to the court to commence rehabilitation proceedings. On the 15th, the 2nd Rehabilitation Division of the Seoul Bankruptcy Court issued a preservation order and a comprehensive stay order to Megabox JoongAng.
Afterward, Korea Ratings lowered Megabox JoongAng's credit rating to C. A Korea Ratings official said, "At the time (Megabox JoongAng) receives the court's decision to commence rehabilitation proceedings, we plan to further downgrade the credit rating to D."
Under the comprehensive stay order, Megabox's debt and asset are frozen. A financial industry official said, "If a booking payment is made with a pay service and then refunded, Megabox has to return that money to the pay company. But due to the comprehensive stay order, pay companies cannot immediately get their money back," and added, "If Megabox fails in corporate rehabilitation and exits the business entirely, pay companies may never recover the refund amounts. They appear to be pulling out quickly to minimize such losses."
As of the end of last year, Megabox JoongAng's total liabilities were 852.2 billion won. Total equity was 38.5 billion won, putting the debt ratio at 2,212%. From 2020 to 2025, it has posted losses for six consecutive years, ranging from at least 8 billion won to nearly 70 billion won.