Fair Trade Commission and Financial Supervisory Service Joint On-site Inspection
Consumer Agency Dedicated Team Operation
Discussion on Response Directions Including Settlement Fund Management
Kim Beom-seok, Vice Minister of Strategy and Finance, is presiding over the 'Meeting of Relevant Ministries Regarding Unsettled Sales Proceeds of Wemakeprice and Tmon' held on the 25th at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul.
On the 25th, the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) and the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) conducted on-site inspections to investigate the TMON and WEMAKEPRICE incident and requested the two companies to submit self-rescue plans to normalize the situation.
In the afternoon of the same day, the KFTC and FSS sent investigators to the headquarters of TMON and WEMAKEPRICE to carry out on-site inspections. The KFTC Market Surveillance Bureau dispatched 5 to 6 investigators at 2:30 PM to the headquarters of TMON and WEMAKEPRICE to conduct the inspections.
During the investigation, the two agencies checked for violations of the Electronic Commerce Act, including obligations to refund consumers and to fulfill service supply contracts, and assessed the status of unsettled sales proceeds owed to sellers. During the on-site inspection, both TMON and WEMAKEPRICE were also requested to submit self-rescue plans to normalize the situation.
Separately, the government held an emergency inspection meeting on the issue of unsettled sales proceeds of TMON and WEMAKEPRICE, chaired by Kim Beom-seok, First Vice Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The meeting was attended by related ministries including the Ministry of Economy and Finance, KFTC, FSS, Financial Services Commission, Ministry of SMEs and Startups, and Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to discuss response measures.
The Financial Services Commission and FSS shared monitoring results on the status of scheduled, completed, and delayed settlements and checked whether there are any actionable measures available within the related ministries. The Financial Services Commission and FSS plan to focus on strengthening the management system for settlement funds to protect sellers by encouraging banks and other financial institutions to enter escrow contracts so that funds received for settlement are used only for that purpose. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism intends to urge the travel industry to actively fulfill contracts to prevent consumer damage related to travel product purchases.
Collective dispute mediation to remedy consumer damages will also begin soon. At a press briefing held at the Government Complex Sejong in the morning, KFTC Chairman Han Ki-jung stated, "We will promptly grasp the situation through on-site inspections of TMON and WEMAKEPRICE and soon initiate collective dispute mediation procedures to remedy consumer damages."
He added, "To expedite consumer damage relief, we will establish a dedicated response team at the Korea Consumer Agency and begin preparations for collective dispute mediation," and "We will closely cooperate with financial authorities and related agencies to prevent the spread of damages to consumers and sellers."
According to Article 68 of the Framework Act on Consumers, if 50 or more people suffer damages, they can initiate collective dispute mediation procedures. Upon deciding to start the collective dispute mediation procedure, the KFTC will announce the commencement on the Korea Consumer Agency’s website and other platforms, and a mediation decision will be made within a maximum of 90 days from the end of the announcement period.
However, compensation recommendations under the Framework Act on Consumers are not legally binding. Since both TMON and WEMAKEPRICE are in a state of complete capital erosion with severely deteriorated financial conditions, and their parent company Qoo10 also has weak financial resources, swift compensation is expected to be difficult if the companies refuse to comply.
According to the KFTC, consumer consultations related to TMON and WEMAKEPRICE received through the 1372 Consumer Counseling Center surged to 254 cases on the 23rd and 1,300 cases on the 24th after the settlement delay incident intensified.
Regarding calls for sanctions against the e-commerce platform companies, Chairman Han said, "The issue of platform operators delaying or failing to settle payments to tenant companies is a civil debt default matter, making it difficult to intervene under the Fair Trade Act or other laws under the KFTC’s jurisdiction."
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