This article was displayed on the ChosunBiz RM Report site on April 1, 2025, at 9:50 a.m.
The publisher, Bookplus, founded by the late former President Chun Doo-hwan's eldest son, Jeon Jae-guk, has reportedly gone bankrupt as of the 1st.
The 16th division of the Seoul Bankruptcy Court (Chief Judge Won Yong-il) ruled on the bankruptcy of Bookplus on the 28th of last month. Earlier, Bookplus had applied for bankruptcy to the Seoul Bankruptcy Court on the 21st of last month. Bookplus is the publishing company that Jeon founded in 1998. It is the fourth-largest publishing wholesaler, following Kyobo Bookstore, Woongjin, and the Korea Publishing Cooperative, with about 600 transaction partners.
According to the publishing industry, the reason for the bankruptcy filing was operational deterioration due to a liquidity crisis. Bookplus's debt was reported to be 18.5 billion won. The court declares bankruptcy when it determines that the corporation's debt exceeds its assets, making normal operational activity impossible. After that, the remaining assets are liquidated, and dividends are distributed to creditors. The Korea Publishers Association, which includes over 490 independent publishers, has been forming a creditor group following Bookplus’s bankruptcy filing.
Bookplus's cash flow reportedly deteriorated sharply after its largest shareholder, A, seized the company's main transaction account. Jeon was the largest shareholder of Bookplus until 2018, but due to unpaid penalties against former President Chun Doo-hwan, part of Bookplus's shares were confiscated and put up for public auction. A became the largest shareholder after winning the bid for these shares. However, when combining supportive equities, Jeon's stake is larger. According to the 2023 audit report, A holds 32.42% of Bookplus’s equity, Libro bookstores hold 26.07%, and Jeon controls 19.71%. Jeon is the largest shareholder of Libro.
In the meantime, Jeon and A have been in conflict, engaging in lawsuits related to company management. Earlier, A filed a lawsuit against Jeon for damages in court, claiming that Jeon had lent Bookplus funds to another company in which he held equity, without collateral. The first trial ruled that Jeon must pay A 148.4 million won in damages. Jeon appealed this decision, but the appellate court issued the same ruling as the first trial.