Jung Min-ho has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2012, mostly covering social and political issues. He currently belongs to the Politics & City Desk where he covers topics such as health, labor and human rights. Prior to joining the team, he was responsible for covering North Korea and sports. His article about a biosecurity breach of Middle East respiratory syndrome won him an award from the Korea Science Journalists Association in 2016. He is also the co-author of the book, "Medical Pioneers of Korea" (2019). He served as the head of the international relations committee at the Journalists Association of Korea from 2021 to 2023.
JoongAng Ilbo puts controlling rights up for sale amid creditor workout
JoongAng Group Vice Chairman Hong Jeong-do bows during a press conference over a liquidity crisis at the group's headquarters in Seoul, June 15. Newsis
By Jung Min-ho
JoongAng Ilbo, one of Korea's largest newspapers, is preparing to put its management rights up for sale as part of a workout plan aimed at stabilizing operations and restoring its finances.
The publisher reportedly told its creditors that it is considering a sale of its controlling stake as part of its plan submitted to the workout committee. The plan also includes selling off real estate assets and subsidiaries, as well as cutting costs, with the aim of securing about 66.4 billion won ($43 million) in liquidity.
JoongAng Ilbo's largest shareholder is JoongAng Holdings, which owns 64.73 percent of the paper. Chairman Hong Seok-hyun holds a 15.63 percent stake as the second-largest shareholder, while CJ Olive Networks holds a 9.24 percent.
The move comes after JoongAng Ilbo failed to meet an early repayment request on corporate paper worth 22 billion won on June 19, prompting the company to file for a workout with Hana Bank.
Under Korea’s workout regime, troubled firms pursue restructuring and a return to normal operations by negotiating debt adjustments with creditors to avoid court-led rehabilitation — on the condition that creditors reach a consensus and approve the plan. If they fail to do so, the debtor may have little choice but to seek formal court protection through rehabilitation.
On Tuesday, a court in Seoul approved the commencement of rehabilitation proceedings for four JoongAng Group affiliates — JoongAng Holdings, Contentree JoongAng, JoongAng P&I and Megabox JoongAng — while granting the group’s broadcasting arm JTBC’s application for an autonomous restructuring support program. The court put off a decision on whether to open formal rehabilitation proceedings for JTBC until July 30 to monitor its situation.