Korea Investment & Securities analyst Kang Ho-jung said on September 23, "Given the cash assets held by Tongyang Group are about 280 billion won, the group will be able to pay back the debts coming due this month. But next month it will be in serious trouble unless it comes up with emergency measures to sell off assets."

 

What makes Tongyang Group's position more precarious is that it won't be able to rely on the support from Tongyang Securities in the form of issuing of additional commercial paper as the securities house is banned by a newly introduced law to do so. It can't expect an injection of emergency funds from Orion Group, a confectionery firm spun off from Tongyang in 2001, either. Orion Group chairman Tam Cheol-gon, Tongyang Group chairman Hyun Jae-hyun's brother-in-law, made clear that his company won't be dragged into the financial mess. To make matters worse, the government said it won't have anything to do with the group.

 

On the 23rd, share prices of all Tongyang Group companies fell precipitously. The shares of Tongyang Corp., Tongyang Cement, Tongyang Securities, and Tongyang Networks moved down to levels as low as the daily limit of 15 percent.