Customers Occupying Tmon Headquarters on the 25th
Note Found in Employee's Notebook
Includes "Lack of Control Tower" Content
As a refund crisis erupted involving TMON and WEMAKEPRICE, subsidiaries of the e-commerce platform Qoo10, a notebook presumed to belong to a TMON employee was found among customers who occupied TMON's headquarters in Apgujeong-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul on the 25th. The notebook contained a memo estimating unsettled amounts to be as high as 1 trillion won, sparking controversy that employees were aware of the situation in advance.
Memo content reportedly found at TMON headquarters on the 25th. [Image source=Online community capture]
On the 26th, several photos of employees' notebooks were posted on an online community. One memo stated "500 billion to 700 billion won (TMON) + expected over 1 trillion won" along with notes saying "Lack of control tower, difficulty in normalization, considering corporate rehabilitation." Another notebook had the date "7/15 (mon)" and a note saying "Claims related to settlements > Prior to official response, inform and then notify the manager." Another employee's memo read "No refunds from today." There were also notes such as "☆Settlement planned by end of July (→ delayed) → Not guaranteed," and "7/22 → If cancellation is requested, cancel it → 20% processed, working on solutions for remaining 80%."
On the 25th, a line of consumers demanding refunds continued late into the evening at TMON headquarters. About 200 consumers occupied the headquarters, and they reportedly shouted "Why is WEMAKEPRICE allowed but not us?" and "Bring the higher-ups" at the basement level 1 where Fair Trade Commission investigators were conducting an on-site investigation. Unlike WEMAKEPRICE, which was processing refunds, TMON had no response. It was reported that the Fair Trade Commission investigators were unable to conduct a proper investigation because TMON employees had been working from home since the 23rd.
On the afternoon of the 25th, when the delay in settlement of sales proceeds by Tmon and Wemakeprice continued, victims of Tmon entered the building at Tmon's new office in Sinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, waiting for a response from Tmon. [Image source=Yonhap News]
Ryu Kwang-jin, CEO of TMON, stated around 5:45 p.m. that day, "We are making efforts to alleviate the anxiety of customers and sellers by providing relief for damages and resuming payments. We will do our best to resolve the settlement delays as well."
This crisis is understood to have stemmed from the aggressive business expansion of Qoo10, a Singapore-based e-commerce platform that acquired first-generation domestic social commerce companies such as TMON and WEMAKEPRICE. Koo Young-bae, founder of Gmarket, sold Gmarket to the U.S. eBay in 2009 for $350 million (about 450 billion won) and established Qoo10 in Singapore in 2010 to avoid a non-compete clause for 10 years. After 10 years, in 2022, Qoo10 acquired TMON through a share exchange, and subsequently acquired Interpark Commerce and WEMAKEPRICE last year, and AK Mall this year.
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