Tenants at MMM Medical Center oppose Tricall's court rehabilitation bid

Tricall Co., a Busan-based designated-driver service company that has long marketed itself as a local homegrown enterprise, is embroiled in a dispute with the hospitals, clinics and pharmacies that lease space in its building. Tenants at MMM Medical Center in Busan held a press conference at the Busan City Council briefing room on Thursday, opposing the building owner's court rehabilitation application and calling for the protection of their rights.

The MMM Medical Center Tenants' Emergency Committee said Tricall had collected management fees from tenants while failing to pay the building's electricity bills for two consecutive months, and had not honored support commitments made when tenants first moved in. "They broke their promises and pushed their responsibilities off until after rehabilitation," the committee said.

According to Tricall's 2025 audit report cited by the committee, the company borrowed about 30.1 billion won ($22.5 million) from eight savings banks at high annual interest rates of 8.5 to 8.8 percent to construct the building. The company posted a net loss of 4.6 billion won in 2024 and more than 4.3 billion won in 2025. In 2025, interest expenses of 3.04 billion won exceeded operating profit of 2.29 billion won, while rental income of 230 million won amounted to less than 8 percent of interest costs.

The committee questioned whether the company had the capacity to return tenant deposits, noting that lease deposits had grown from 130 million won to 860 million won over the same period while the company held only 170 million won in cash. The committee also pressed the company to explain its cash flows, pointing to 5.1 billion won in outstanding loans to the chief executive's personal business, Samju Building, as of the end of 2025.

The committee put forward five demands: that no rehabilitation proceedings be opened without measures to protect tenants; that the company disclose how management fees were used and explain why the payment account was changed; that special lease terms be honored and reflected in rehabilitation claims; that lease agreements and deposit refunds be guaranteed; and that the company disclose transactions with related parties, including the loans to the chief executive.

"We do not want the company to collapse," the committee said. "Tricall must stop hiding behind rehabilitation and come forward to take responsibility."