JoongAng Ilbo [Yonhap News]

JoongAng Ilbo announced that it had been processed for a first default due to its inability to meet a request for early redemption of commercial paper (CP) worth 22 billion won.

According to the Financial Supervisory Service's electronic disclosure system on the 19th, JoongAng Ilbo stated on the previous day, "Although the creditor presented the bill for payment on the 18th, we confirmed that due to insufficient funds in our account, we were unable to make the payment, and the first bill was processed for default as of the 18th."

The commercial paper that was defaulted this time is JoongAng Ilbo's CP held by Hanyang Securities, with original maturity dates of December 7th of this year (worth 12 billion won) and March 30th of next year (worth 10 billion won).

However, amid the recent liquidity crisis of the JoongAng Group, an event of default (EOD) occurred, prompting the creditor, Hanyang Securities, to seek early recovery. An event of default is a contractual clause that allows a creditor to demand repayment before maturity if certain events, such as a drop in credit rating, occur.

JoongAng Ilbo issued a statement on the previous day regarding Hanyang Securities' request for early redemption, stating, "JoongAng Ilbo, which is currently pursuing workout (corporate restructuring) with its main creditor bank, must maintain fairness among all creditors. Therefore, it is difficult to provide early redemption before maturity individually to specific creditors."