Prosecutor General Orders Dedicated Investigation Team for Timf... Simultaneous Police and Prosecutor Investigation on Gu Young-bae's Travel Ban

7 Prosecutors from the Anti-Corruption Division of the Central District Prosecutors' Office Deployed
Police Assign Consumer Complaints and Accusations to Investigation Division 1

Prosecutors and police have launched simultaneous investigations into the large-scale delay in payment settlements by TMON and WEMAKEPRICE. The prosecution formed a dedicated investigation team at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office under the urgent directive of the Prosecutor General, while the Gangnam Police Station began investigations targeting four executives based on complaints and accusations.

On the 29th, Prosecutor General Lee Won-seok issued an urgent directive to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, stating, "Form a dedicated investigation team centered on the Anti-Corruption Investigation Division 1 to conduct a swift and thorough investigation to minimize damage to consumers and sales companies." Accordingly, the Central District Prosecutors' Office formed a dedicated investigation team led by Lee Jun-dong, head of the Anti-Corruption Investigation Division 1, deploying seven prosecutors. A prosecution official stated, "We plan to conduct the investigation swiftly and strictly."

The Ministry of Justice accepted the request from investigative agencies and imposed a travel ban on former CEO Koo. Mok Ju-young, CEO of Qoo10 Korea; Ryu Kwang-jin, CEO of TMON; and Ryu Hwa-hyun, co-CEO of WEMAKEPRICE were also subjected to travel bans.

The prosecution views this case as a serious crime that has caused consumer harm and disrupted market order. They have been proactively reviewing legal aspects in advance, monitoring various situations such as investigation requests from financial supervisory authorities and victim complaints. The fact that the prosecution formed a dedicated investigation team centered on the Anti-Corruption Division, rather than the Criminal Division which usually handles complaints or the Fair Trade Investigation Division which investigates corporate crimes, suggests a strong possibility of a rigorous investigation into embezzlement and breach of trust charges against the executives.

The police also began a swift investigation based on complaints and accusations from multiple victims. On the same day, consumers who suffered damages due to delays in settlements and refunds filed complaints and accusations at the Gangnam Police Station against the CEOs of TMON and WEMAKEPRICE, former CEO Koo of the parent company Qoo10, and the financial director, totaling five individuals, on charges of fraud and embezzlement/breach of trust under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes. The police assigned the case involving complaints from consumers affected by the settlement and refund delays to Investigation Division 1 and immediately commenced the investigation.