Joongang Ilbo: "Core Business Remains Unshaken... Liquidity Crunch Is Temporary"

"An Independent Corporation Separate from Affiliates Under Court Receivership"

Core Business Competitiveness Highlighted... "Turning Crisis into Opportunity"

As court hearings for the representatives of five Joongang Group affiliates that filed for rehabilitation were underway, Joongang Ilbo emphasized that it is an independent corporation, management-wise separate from these affiliates, and stressed that the current liquidity crunch is only a temporary phenomenon.

Yonhap News Agency

On June 23, Joongang Ilbo released a statement saying, "After officially filing for a workout (corporate restructuring process) with the main creditor bank Hana Bank on June 19, we are now focusing the entire company's resources on ensuring the successful progress of the related procedures." The company added, "We are closely consulting with the main creditor bank and various stakeholders to devise effective solutions for the prompt normalization of management and improvement of our financial structure."

Joongang Ilbo stated, "The company is an independent corporation, management-wise separate from other Joongang Group affiliates that have filed for court receivership," and emphasized, "Joongang Ilbo's core business remains unaffected."

The company went on to highlight its 13 consecutive years of operating profit, with last year’s revenue and operating profit reaching 321 billion won and 17.5 billion won, respectively. Joongang Ilbo said, "Last year, we recorded the highest sales in the domestic newspaper industry, and we expect even better results this year. Even if we expand the scope to include all newspaper affiliates, such as Joongang Ilbo M&P and Joongang Ilbo S, we have posted operating profits for seven consecutive years since 2019. Last year, the newspaper affiliates’ earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) reached 47 billion won."

The company also stated, "We have successfully led the digital transformation and established a paid subscription service, and have been laying out a vision for the future of journalism based on our content competitiveness."

Joongang Ilbo further emphasized, "This workout application was an unavoidable decision made to protect the rights of creditors who have trusted and supported us and to lay the foundation for the recovery of funds. Through the workout process, we will work to reinforce our financial structure and ensure that creditors are not harmed, making every possible effort to protect investors."

The company added, "We would like to clarify that the current liquidity crunch is not due to a lack of competitiveness in our core business, but is a temporary phenomenon caused by the transfer of risks from affiliates."

In closing, Joongang Ilbo stated, "We sincerely apologize to our readers and creditors for the concerns caused by this situation. We will use this workout as an opportunity to turn crisis into chance and become an even healthier and more competitive media company."

Meanwhile, on this day, the Seoul Bankruptcy Court’s Rehabilitation Division 2 (Chief Judge Jeong Junyoung) held hearings for five Joongang Group affiliates that applied for rehabilitation: Joongang Holdings, Joongang P&I, JTBC, Megabox Joongang, and Contentree Joongang.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.