매출 72% 급감했는데 4000억 골프장 쇼핑? - 회사 망하는데 빚으로 골프사업하는 메가스터디의 실체 — Transcript

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1. 0:00Hello. This is Jeongbu-ui Sin. MegaStudy
2. 0:02, the company that wrote a success story
3. 0:04in the Korean online education market.
4. 0:06However, something hard to believe is
5. 0:08happening at this company right now. Its
6. 0:10education business revenue, which
7. 0:13reached 121.8 billion KRW in 2016,
8. 0:15dropped to 34.6 billion KRW by 2025,
9. 0:18meaning about 72%of its revenue vanished
10. 0:20in less than 10 years.
11. 0:22So, what choices did MegaStudy make to
12. 0:24revive its crumbling education business
13. 0:26?
14. 0:28Surprisingly, the business MegaStudy has
15. 0:30been expanding most aggressively in
16. 0:33recent years is golf courses.
17. 0:35Over the past three years, the total
18. 0:37transaction value for acquiring or
19. 0:39investing in three golf courses has
20. 0:40reached a staggering 400 billion KRW.
21. 0:43What is even more surprising is the fact
22. 0:45that they are pursuing this golf
23. 0:46business through subsidiary loans and
24. 0:48borrowing from financial institutions.
25. 0:50So today, we will examine why MegaStudy
26. 0:53focused on the golf course business
27. 0:55while its core education business was
28. 0:57shrinking, and the financial risks it
29. 0:59has taken on in the process.
30. 1:01Founded in 2000, MegaStudy was a company
31. 1:03that changed the landscape of the Korean
32. 1:05education market. By providing lectures
33. 1:07from famous academy instructors online,
34. 1:09they made it possible for students to
35. 1:11take classes from anywhere in the
36. 1:12country without having to travel to
37. 1:14large academies in Seoul.
38. 1:16This business grew explosively, and
39. 1:18MegaStudy was listed on the KOSDAQ in
40. 1:202004, but as time passed, a major change
41. 1:22occurred at the company in 2015.
42. 1:26It carried out a spin-off into a
43. 1:27separate company called MegaStudy
44. 1:29Education to handle K-12 education,
45. 1:31while the original MegaStudy focused on
46. 1:33adult education, publishing, food
47. 1:35service, and investment businesses.
48. 1:38However, the company's education
49. 1:40business became more difficult as time
50. 1:41went on. The biggest blow was the
51. 1:43abolition of the Pharmacy Education
52. 1:46Eligibility Test (PEET). MegaStudy had
53. 1:48been operating an education business
54. 1:50targeting PEET aspirants through its
55. 1:53subsidiary, Mega MD. But as the PEET
56. 1:55market disappeared due to the
57. 1:56restructuring of the pharmacy school
58. 1:58system, it lost one of its core revenue
59. 2:00sources. They subsequently expanded into
60. 2:02other education markets, such as
61. 2:03certified real estate agent and
62. 2:05professional qualification exams, but
63. 2:06failed to recover to their previous
64. 2:08revenue levels. As a result, education
65. 2:11business revenue, which was 121.8
66. 2:13billion KRW in 2016, fell to 64.5
67. 2:16billion KRW in 2022 and decreased to
68. 2:1934.6 billion KRW by 2025. And during
69. 2:21this period, the business that MegaStudy
70. 2:23chose as its new growth engine was, in
71. 2:25fact, golf courses. MegaStudy's first
72. 2:27golf course investment took place in
73. 2:302023. It was Lotte Skyhill Gimhae CC
74. 2:32located in Gimhae, Gyeongnam, and the
75. 2:34transaction size at the time was
76. 2:36approximately 134 billion KRW. MegaStudy
77. 2:39invested 30 billion KRW into its
78. 2:41subsidiary, Mega BMC, and additionally
79. 2:43lent them 41 billion KRW. The structure
80. 2:46involved the parent company lending
81. 2:47money to its subsidiary, which the
82. 2:49subsidiary then used to acquire a golf
83. 2:50course business. While 11 billion won
84. 2:52was later recovered, the remaining 30
85. 2:55billion won had its maturity extended to
86. 2:572026. Even three years after the golf
87. 3:00course acquisition, a significant
88. 3:01portion of the funds has yet to be
89. 3:03recovered. The following year, in 2024,
90. 3:06MegaStudy also participated in the
91. 3:08investment for Luna Hills Anseong,
92. 3:10located in Anseong, Gyeonggi-do. The
93. 3:12scale of this transaction was
94. 3:13approximately 160 billion won. MegaStudy
95. 3:15contributed about 40 billion won in
96. 3:17common equity, while the transaction
97. 3:19structure included existing loans of
98. 3:21approximately 120 billion won.
99. 3:24In other words, about 75%of the total
100. 3:26deal consisted of debt, meaning they
101. 3:28invested in golf course assets using
102. 3:30financial leverage far exceeding their
103. 3:33own capital.
104. 3:34Then, in 2025, MegaStudy embarked on its
105. 3:37third golf course investment. It was the
106. 3:39Princess GC in Gongju, Chungnam, with a
107. 3:41total transaction value of approximately
108. 3:44104 billion won. This time, they
109. 3:45utilized a real estate fund. MegaStudy
110. 3:48and its affiliates invested a total of
111. 3:5120.3 billion won to secure a 42.03%
112. 3:53stake in the fund.
113. 3:55From 2023 to 2025, MegaStudy
114. 3:57participated in three golf course deals
115. 3:59, with the total transaction volume
116. 4:01reaching a staggering 398 billion won,
117. 4:04nearly 400 billion won.
118. 4:06As previously mentioned, MegaStudy’s
119. 4:08revenue from its education business has
120. 4:10dropped by 72%in less than a decade.
121. 4:12In such a situation, a company must be
122. 4:14even more cautious about where it
123. 4:16invests its limited funds.
124. 4:19In particular, MegaStudy’s golf course
125. 4:21investments were not simple transactions
126. 4:23that ended with paying money and buying
127. 4:25assets. The problem is that the
128. 4:27structure included both money to be
129. 4:29repaid and additional potential
130. 4:30liabilities under certain conditions. So
131. 4:33, what kind of results has MegaStudy
132. 4:35achieved by participating in such
133. 4:37large-scale golf course deals?
134. 4:40In 2025, MegaStudy’s revenue from its
135. 4:41leisure business was approximately 35
136. 4:43billion won. On the other hand, revenue
137. 4:45from its education business was 34.6
138. 4:47billion won. Ultimately, the leisure
139. 4:49business, including golf course
140. 4:50operations, has overtaken the core
141. 4:52education business in terms of revenue.
142. 4:54However, there is an illusion here.
143. 4:57Although it appears the golf business
144. 4:59grew significantly to surpass the
145. 5:01education business, actual 2025 revenue
146. 5:03for the leisure business slightly
147. 5:04decreased from the previous year's 35.2
148. 5:06billion won. Meanwhile, the education
149. 5:09business also declined from 36.5 billion
150. 5:11won the previous year to 34.6 billion
151. 5:13won. In short, while the leisure
152. 5:15business is also stagnant, the education
153. 5:17business declined so sharply that it
154. 5:19flipped the revenue rankings of the two
155. 5:20sectors. More importantly, there is the
156. 5:22operating profit. Mega BMC, which
157. 5:24operates the Kim golf course, saw 2025
158. 5:26revenue of approximately 21 billion KRW
159. 5:28and an operating profit of about 7.6
160. 5:30billion KRW, marking a 3.2%decrease in
161. 5:32revenue and an 11.3%drop in operating
162. 5:34profit compared to the previous year.
163. 5:36Another leisure subsidiary, MS Leisure,
164. 5:38also recorded an operating profit of
165. 5:40about 2.6 billion KRW in 2025, which is
166. 5:43a significant 35.5%decrease from the
167. 5:45year prior.
168. 5:46There is also something that must be
169. 5:47clearly distinguished here.
170. 5:49The combined operating profit of 10.2
171. 5:51billion KRW from these two subsidiaries
172. 5:53does not mean that MegaStudy has that
173. 5:55much cash freely available from its golf
174. 5:57course business.
175. 5:58Operating profit reflects non-cash
176. 6:00expenses like depreciation, while cash
177. 6:02outflows such as principal repayments on
178. 6:04loans or capital expenditures cannot be
179. 6:06confirmed through operating profit alone
180. 6:09.
181. 6:09The golf course business requires
182. 6:11significant costs to maintain its
183. 6:13facilities. It requires continuous
184. 6:14investment, including course management
185. 6:16, turf replacement, and clubhouse
186. 6:17renovations. In the case of MegaStudy,
187. 6:20loan interest and principal repayments
188. 6:22must also be considered. Ultimately, to
189. 6:24know how much the golf courses are
190. 6:26earning, one must look beyond revenue
191. 6:28and operating profit and account for
192. 6:30facility investments, financial costs,
193. 6:32and the burden of principal repayment
194. 6:33from operating cash flow. At this point
195. 6:36, the most important question regarding
196. 6:38MegaStudy's golf course investment
197. 6:40arises. Can the cash generated by the
198. 6:42golf courses truly cover the tens of
199. 6:45billions of won in financial obligations
200. 6:47that will come due? First, on April 27,
201. 6:492027, the 30 billion KRW loan MegaStudy
202. 6:52provided to its subsidiary, Mega BMC,
203. 6:54will reach maturity. As mentioned, they
204. 6:56initially lent 41 billion KRW in 2023,
205. 6:59of which 11 billion KRW has been
206. 7:01recovered. However, the remaining 30
207. 7:03billion KRW had its maturity extended to
208. 7:06April 2026, and with an annual interest
209. 7:09rate of 4.7%, it generates approximately
210. 7:111.41 billion KRW in interest annually.
211. 7:14The issue is whether the subsidiary can
212. 7:16repay the principal upon maturity. If
213. 7:18there isn't enough cash on hand as there
214. 7:20is now, they may have to extend the
215. 7:21maturity again or find other sources of
216. 7:23funding. And a larger variable lies in
217. 7:252028.
218. 7:26This is due to the put option agreement
219. 7:28signed with external investors during
220. 7:30the acquisition of the third golf course
221. 7:32, Princess GC.
222. 7:33A put option is the right of an investor
223. 7:35to sell their held shares to the
224. 7:37counterparty under certain conditions.
225. 7:40In MegaStudy's case, such a contract is
226. 7:42attached to 28 billion KRW worth of
227. 7:44beneficiary certificates held by
228. 7:46external investors.
229. 7:47Starting in 2028, these external
230. 7:49investors can exercise their right to
231. 7:51sell according to the contract.
232. 7:53The problem is that this structure is
233. 7:55not just about returning the principal,
234. 7:56but also involves reflecting the
235. 7:58agreed-upon investment return rates.
236. 8:00Assuming an annual return of 10%, the
237. 8:02amount required for the put option
238. 8:04exercise could reach approximately 37.2
239. 8:06billion won. What we must pay even
240. 8:08closer attention to is the fact that
241. 8:10Megastudy is providing a performance
242. 8:12guarantee for this contract. If its
243. 8:14subsidiary, Mega BMC, fails to fulfill
244. 8:16its contractual obligations, the parent
245. 8:18company, Megastudy, may face financial
246. 8:19liabilities based on the guarantee terms
247. 8:21.
248. 8:22Ultimately, these figures suggest that
249. 8:24it is difficult to say the operating
250. 8:26profit generated from the golf course
251. 8:28business alone can sufficiently cover
252. 8:30future financial burdens.
253. 8:32Looking further at Megastudy's financial
254. 8:34structure, there is another noteworthy
255. 8:36change.
256. 8:37The debt-to-equity ratio, which was
257. 8:40about 18.6%in 2022, has risen to
258. 8:42approximately 46.6%by 2025.
259. 8:45Since entering the golf course business
260. 8:47, the debt ratio has increased nearly
261. 8:48threefold. Furthermore, Megastudy’s
262. 8:51consolidated operating profit in 2025
263. 8:53decreased from approximately 23.8
264. 8:54billion won the previous year to 20.5
265. 8:56billion won. This means profitability
266. 8:58has deteriorated not only in the
267. 8:59education business but also in the
268. 9:01leisure business. Then why did Megastudy
269. 9:03expand its golf course business at such
270. 9:05a time? The company explains that it is
271. 9:07for business diversification. They claim
272. 9:09that after the abolition of the PEET
273. 9:11exam, growth in the education business
274. 9:12weakened, creating a need to secure new
275. 9:14revenue sources. However, the market has
276. 9:16different suspicions. Megastudy is a
277. 9:18company with a history of pursuing the
278. 9:20sale of its management rights.
279. 9:23In 2014, sale negotiations with certain
280. 9:25private equity funds were mentioned, and
281. 9:27in 2022, they even acknowledged
282. 9:29negotiations with the well-known MBK
283. 9:31Partners.
284. 9:32Thus, it is suggested that the current
285. 9:34expansion of the golf course business
286. 9:35could be a strategy to boost corporate
287. 9:37value. However, it becomes a different
288. 9:39issue if the increased asset value from
289. 9:41golf course investments is not meant to
290. 9:43bring tangible benefits to shareholders
291. 9:45after accounting for debt and financial
292. 9:47burdens, but is merely a means for an
293. 9:49owner exit. And one more question
294. 9:52remains. While sales in the education
295. 9:54business dropped by 72%, what
296. 9:56mid-to-long-term strategies did
297. 9:58Megastudy prepare to restore its
298. 10:00competitiveness in education? While it
299. 10:02is a company's freedom to enter new
300. 10:04businesses, a business unrelated to its
301. 10:06core operations should not become a
302. 10:07means to mask a crisis in its existing
303. 10:09business.
304. 10:11The reason we must critically examine
305. 10:12Megastudy's golf course business is not
306. 10:14simply because an education company is
307. 10:16operating golf courses.
308. 10:18It is because jumping into the golf
309. 10:20course business has increased financial
310. 10:22burdens, taken on future fiscal risks,
311. 10:24and could lead to a situation where the
312. 10:25competitiveness of the core business
313. 10:27fails to recover.
314. 10:29Corporate diversification should be a
315. 10:31choice made to secure new engines for
316. 10:33growth.
317. 10:34And the standard for determining if that
318. 10:36choice was truly successful is how much
319. 10:38value they can ultimately deliver to
320. 10:40shareholders as a publicly traded
321. 10:42company.
322. 10:43MegaStudy, which pioneered the online
323. 10:45education market in South Korea.
324. 10:47Whether their current path will be seen
325. 10:49as overcoming the contraction of the
326. 10:51education business to secure a new
327. 10:52growth engine, or as a company that lost
328. 10:54its core competitiveness and only
329. 10:56increased its financial burden, the
330. 10:58answer will be revealed in the upcoming
331. 11:00cash flow and capital recovery
332. 11:01performance of their golf course
333. 11:03business. If you found today's video
334. 11:05helpful, please show your support with a
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337. 11:09leave your thoughts in the comments as
338. 11:10well. I will see you again in the next
339. 11:13video. Thank you for watching today.