This article was displayed on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove (MM) site at 4:45 p.m. on Jun. 24, 2026.
Shinhan Investment & Securities and NH Investment & Securities, which were the underwriters for SLL JoongAng's initial public offering (IPO), faced the risk of losses because of corporate bond issuance they handled while building an amicable relationship with JoongAng Group. While the anticipated SLL JoongAng listing failed, some losses on the corporate bonds taken on during issuance became unavoidable after key affiliates of the group filed for court receivership in succession.
According to the investment banking (IB) industry on the 24th, Shinhan Investment & Securities' exposure related to JoongAng Group is estimated at about 40 billion won. The figure includes portions underwritten in SLL JoongAng's public offering bonds and securitized bonds. NICE Investors Service tallied direct credit exposure to JoongAng Group in the securities industry at a total of 125.1 billion won. Of that, 84 billion won is attributed to Hanyang Securities, and about 25 billion won is concentrated at Shinhan Investment & Securities.
NH Investment & Securities lent 15 billion won to JoongAng P&I, an affiliate of JoongAng Group, with 2.4 million shares of Contentree JoongAng as collateral. As the loan neared maturity, JoongAng P&I applied for corporate rehabilitation, and Contentree JoongAng provided as collateral faced the same situation, making the recovery of funds uncertain.
The backdrop for the two securities firms finding themselves in this situation is the SLL JoongAng IPO. In 2024, NH Investment & Securities was selected as the lead underwriter for the SLL JoongAng IPO, and Shinhan Investment & Securities was chosen as a joint underwriter. At the time, SLL JoongAng was assessed as a blue-chip IPO candidate representing the domestic content sector, drawing many large securities firms into competition to underwrite.
According to the industry, it is said that NH Investment & Securities' steady support for SLL JoongAng's corporate bond issuance—despite its BBB credit rating and losses that made fundraising difficult—worked favorably in the underwriter selection. Shinhan Investment & Securities also built relationships by continuously underwriting bond issuances of major JoongAng Group affiliates, including JTBC. The two companies jointly led SLL JoongAng's public offering of corporate bonds of up to 100 billion won in 2023.
Even after being chosen as IPO underwriters, the two securities firms effectively split capital market fundraising tasks for JoongAng Group affiliates. Shinhan Investment & Securities has underwritten JTBC public offering bonds since 2021. In 2024, it served as lead underwriter for corporate bonds of major loss-making affiliates such as SLL JoongAng (74 billion won), Contentree JoongAng (69 billion won), and JTBC (77 billion won). NH Investment & Securities also participated as a joint underwriter in SLL JoongAng's bond issuance through early this year, and it co-underwrote JoongAng Ilbo bonds with KB Securities last year and solely underwrote them this year.
However, the core goal—the IPO—ultimately did not materialize. SLL JoongAng pursued a listing after securing a total of 400 billion won in pre-IPO investment from Praxis Capital Partner and Tencent in 2021. The investment agreement at the time included a condition to complete the listing within a certain period, but despite two deadline extensions, the listing fell through.
At one point, the market discussed SLL JoongAng's corporate value at around 2 trillion won. But rising content production costs, deteriorating profitability, and a sluggish IPO market combined to keep pushing back the listing schedule. Afterward, JoongAng Group pursued a sale of management control and new investment, but it failed to produce clear results.
An industry official said, "Even at the time of selecting IPO underwriters, there were voices expressing skepticism about SLL JoongAng's corporate value," and noted, "In the end, the listing fell through and rehabilitation risks emerged, turning the relationship finance the two securities firms had built into a boomerang."