Subtitled News: Arriving an Hour Early at the Annex Entrance… Avoiding the Press After a Public Apology?

The representative interrogation session has begun for five affiliates of the JoongAng Group, including the general programming channel JTBC, which have filed for court receivership.

The 2nd Division of the Seoul Bankruptcy Court is holding consecutive interrogations for the representatives of JoongAng Holdings, JoongAng P&I, JTBC, Megabox JoongAng, and Contentree JoongAng, starting at 10:00 a.m. today.

Hong Jeong-do, Vice Chairman of JoongAng Group, attended on behalf of JoongAng Holdings. It is reported that Vice Chairman Hong entered through the annex entrance an hour before the scheduled interrogation time to avoid the press.

During the representative interrogation, the court will inquire about and receive responses regarding the debtors' overview, current status of assets and liabilities, and the reasons for filing for rehabilitation, before deciding whether to commence the rehabilitation proceedings.

Each representative is expected to explain the specific scale of debt and plans for debt restructuring to the court.

The JoongAng Group rehabilitation crisis began on the 12th, when JTBC declared a default after failing to repay 20.6 billion won in securitized borrowings upon maturity.

Two days later, on the 14th, JoongAng Holdings, Contentree JoongAng, JoongAng P&I, and Megabox JoongAng filed for the commencement of rehabilitation proceedings one after another.

JTBC also filed for rehabilitation on the 15th.

The court has assigned all the filing cases to the 2nd Division of the Bankruptcy Court and has issued preservation orders and comprehensive injunctions to freeze assets and claims.

On the 14th, JTBC submitted an application to the court to postpone the commencement of rehabilitation proceedings, expressing its intention to participate in the Autonomous Restructuring Support (ARS) program.

The ARS is a system in which the court postpones the commencement of compulsory rehabilitation proceedings and supports the company and its creditors in negotiating restructuring autonomously.

If the court approves the ARS program, the commencement of rehabilitation proceedings can be postponed.

Reported by Kim Jiuk | Video by Choi Gang-san | Graphics by Yang Hye-min | Produced by SBS Digital News
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.