Units of South Korea's JoongAng Group seek court rehabilitation linked to costly sporting rights

ContentreeJoongAng

15/06/2026 08:53

SEOUL, June 15 (Reuters) - The vice chairman of South Korean media conglomerate JoongAng Group apologised on Monday as key subsidiaries filed for court-led rehabilitation following a default by its broadcaster JTBC, linked in reports to heavy investments in sporting rights, including for the FIFA World Cup.
Contentree JoongAng, Megabox JoongAng, holding firm JoongAng Holdings and JoongAng P&I applied to the Seoul Bankruptcy Court for rehabilitation, JoongAng Group Vice Chairman Hong Jeong-do said in a televised address. 
The four companies made their filing on Sunday and JTBC filed for rehabilitation with the court on Monday, a court spokesperson said. 
The filings were made two days after JTBC said it failed to repay about 20.6 billion won ($13.61 million) in securitised borrowings, triggering a downgrade of its credit rating by local credit rating agency NICE to "CCC", signalling high default risk.
JTBC had spent around $500 million to secure exclusive broadcasting rights for major sporting events like the FIFA World Cup and Olympics from 2026 to 2032, but struggled to recoup costs as resale deals faltered, according to local media reports. 
Following the filing, trading in Contentree JoongAng shares was suspended under exchange rules pending a court decision on whether to begin rehabilitation proceedings.
Megabox JoongAng, which operates multiplex cinemas and accounts for a substantial portion of Contentree JoongAng’s assets, also entered the rehabilitation process.
Hong said the group would seek “all possible measures” to normalise operations, while ensuring broadcasting, including World Cup coverage, and other core businesses continue without disruption.
JoongAng Group’s holdings span broadcaster JTBC, newspaper JoongAng Ilbo, content producer Contentree JoongAng and cinema chain Megabox, covering television, print media, film production and exhibition.
The rehabilitation filings aim to freeze asset disposals and creditor actions while giving the companies time to draw up restructuring plans and prevent selective repayments.
According to local media, the court typically decides within about a month whether to open rehabilitation or declare bankruptcy, depending on the firms’ viability as going concerns.
($1 = 1,513.2200 won)

 (Reporting by Kyu-seok Shim
Editing by Ed Davies)
 ((Kyu-seok.Shim@thomsonreuters.com;))