‘Offline Bookstore 3rd Place’ Bandi & Lunis Operator Seoul Mun-go Final Bankruptcy

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] Seoul Mun-go, established in 1988 and operating online and offline bookstores under the brand Bandi & Lunis, has been finally declared bankrupt.

According to the publishing industry on the 16th, the Korea Publishers Association, composed of book publishers, sent an official letter titled "Urgent Notice of Seoul Mun-go Bankruptcy" to publishers under the name of Chairman Kim Tae-heon.

Seoul Mun-go reportedly failed to pay a matured promissory note the day before. A representative from the Korea Publication Culture Association, the leading organization in the publishing industry, said, "It is understood that Seoul Mun-go was unable to cover a promissory note worth 160 million won."

Bandi & Lunis also announced the suspension of online services through its website. The Bandi & Lunis side stated, "Due to circumstances at the logistics center, the online site service is scheduled to be suspended," adding, "From today, it is impossible to proceed with product shipments on PC and mobile."

In the official letter, the Korea Publishers Association said, "It is regrettable that consecutive situations are exacerbating damage and pain amid difficult publishing distribution circumstances such as the bankruptcy of Interpark Songin Books," and added, "We will do our best to minimize damage to member companies and publishers."

The Korea Publication Culture Association and the Korea Publishers Association plan to meet with Seoul Mun-go on the afternoon of the 17th to assess the current situation and discuss future directions and inventory handling to minimize damage to publishers.