JTBC, JoongAng Holdings, and 3 Others File for Court Receivership: "Sincere Apologies"

[Anchor]

Key affiliates of the JoongAng Group, including JTBC, have filed for court receivership. Separately, the JoongAng Ilbo announced it will enter a workout program. Hong Jeong-do, Vice Chairman of JoongAng Group, bowed his head in a press conference, apologizing for causing public concern.

Reporter Bae Junu has the story.

[Reporter]

JoongAng Group Vice Chairman Hong Jeong-do held a press conference to apologize for the group's holding company, JoongAng Holdings, and other entities filing for court receivership.

[Hong Jeong-do/Vice Chairman, JoongAng Group: JoongAng Holdings and some of our affiliates have filed for court receivership. I am sincerely sorry for causing this situation and for the public concern it has sparked.]

The five companies that filed for receivership are the holding company, as well as key affiliates JTBC, Megabox JoongAng, JoongAng P&I, and Contentree JoongAng.

Separately, the JoongAng Ilbo stated, "As the foundation of the group, we will enter a workout program—a corporate restructuring process—to ensure the uninterrupted fulfillment of our public responsibilities as a media organization."

[Hong Jeong-do/Vice Chairman, JoongAng Group: I once again offer my sincere apologies to the numerous creditors, shareholders, and other stakeholders of JTBC, Megabox, and Contentree JoongAng.]

Credit rating agencies have downgraded JTBC's credit rating to 'D,' the lowest grade, which indicates a state of default on principal or interest payments.

This marks the first time a general programming channel has filed for court receivership since such channels were launched in 2011.

Analysts suggest that as the media landscape has shifted rapidly toward OTT platforms and YouTube, the TV advertising market—constrained by various regulations—has shrunk. This, combined with the burden of large-scale content investments and accumulated debt, led to a liquidity crisis at the group level.

The Korea Communications Commission stated that it will pay close attention to the financial situation during the process of reviewing JTBC's license renewal.

[Kim Jong-cheol/Chairman, Korea Communications Commission: In the case of JTBC, the evaluation of financial and technical areas is included as a key assessment item in the license renewal process. I want to emphasize that we will be monitoring this closely.]

The Seoul Bankruptcy Court will determine whether to initiate the rehabilitation process over the next month or so. If the court determines there is no possibility of rehabilitation, it could declare bankruptcy.

Reported by Bae Junu | Video by Kang Dong-cheol | Video Editing by Jeon Min-gyu | Graphics by Choi Ha-neul
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.