jtbc insists tongyang broadcasting corporation (tbc) is ground for the return of "joongang ilbo" to television in jtbc. tbc, which was a part of the samsung group, was launched in 1966 and ran the network for 16 years. in 1980, however, tbc was combined with the state-run korean broadcasting system (kbs) under the chun doo-hwan military regime. jtbc opened on december 1, 2011 to honor tbc, which was associated with kbs on november 30, 1980.