This article was displayed on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove (MM) site at 11:32 a.m. on Jul. 23, 2026.
It has been confirmed that JTBC asked the court to extend the hold period on whether to commence rehabilitation proceedings. As EY Hanyoung, the accounting firm the court appointed as an examiner in connection with JTBC's Autonomous Restructuring Support (ARS) program, also asked to extend its review deadline to mid-August, there is speculation that JTBC's ARS process has entered an extension phase.
According to the investment banking (IB) industry and according to legal sources on the 23rd, JTBC submitted an application to the Seoul Bankruptcy Court the previous day to extend the hold period on whether to commence rehabilitation proceedings. As the examiner's review has taken longer than initially expected, the company is also seen as seeking additional time needed for autonomous talks with creditors.
EY Hanyoung is said to have recently conveyed to the Seoul Bankruptcy Court a request to extend the investigation period for JTBC until the second week of August. The court will decide on the extension after reviewing the progress of the investigation and the need for further review.
The ARS is a system in which the court defers its decision on whether to commence rehabilitation proceedings for a set period and supports the company and creditors in autonomously discussing debt adjustment and management normalization plans. The initial hold period is one month and can be extended by up to three months depending on the progress of talks. If autonomous talks break down during this period, the court decides whether to commence rehabilitation proceedings.
EY Hanyoung, which the court appointed as JTBC's examiner, initially planned to conduct a primary review of JTBC's financial condition, debt repayment capacity, and going-concern value through the 21st. It is reported that after determining additional data verification and review were necessary, the investigation period was once extended to the 28th.
In addition, EY Hanyoung is understood to have requested to push back the end point of the investigation, judging that further review is needed. If the request is accepted, the investigation process, originally slated to wrap up around the end of this month, could continue until after mid-August.
With the extension of the investigation period, the ARS period currently applied to JTBC is also effectively expected to be extended. For the court to determine whether to commence rehabilitation proceedings, it must comprehensively review the examiner's findings, the company's self-rescue plan, and the progress of creditor talks. If the submission of the examination report is delayed, the period during which the court defers its decision on commencing rehabilitation proceedings is also highly likely to be extended accordingly.
In the industry, some say an extension of JTBC's ARS period was more or less expected. Because ARS typically runs for around three months, a little over a month is tight to investigate the company's financial condition and produce a debt adjustment plan with key creditors.
If JTBC reaches an agreement with key creditors during the ARS period on autonomous restructuring measures such as maturity extensions or debt adjustments, it can pursue management normalization without entering court receivership. Conversely, if talks fail or the review finds that the going-concern value falls short of liquidation value, the court will decide whether to commence rehabilitation proceedings.
Among the five JoongAng Group affiliates that filed for commencement of rehabilitation proceedings with the Seoul Bankruptcy Court, JTBC is the only one that applied for ARS.
On the 12th of last month, JTBC failed to repay at maturity a total of 20.6 billion won in securitized borrowing fund and fell into default. Subsequently, on the 14th of last month, JoongAng Holdings, Contentree JoongAng, JoongAng P&I, and Megabox JoongAng filed for commencement of rehabilitation proceedings, and JTBC also filed for commencement on the 15th of last month, the following day.
On the 30th of last month, the Seoul Bankruptcy Court accepted JTBC's application to defer the decision on whether to commence rehabilitation proceedings and has been conducting the ARS process.