Prosecutors Question TMON Operations Headquarters Director as Witness... Accelerating Investigation into Timeff

Timon Operations Division Head, Wemakeprice Partner Growth Support Team Leader
Summoned as Witness...Focused Investigation on Timing of Settlement Delay Awareness

The prosecution investigating the large-scale unpaid sales proceeds incident involving TMON and WEMAKEPRICE summoned officials from both companies on the 9th.

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office's dedicated investigation team for TMON and WEMAKEPRICE (TMEP) (led by Chief Prosecutor Lee Joon-dong) called Kwon Do-wan, Head of TMON's Operations Business Division, and Hwang, Head of WEMAKEPRICE's Partner Growth Support Team, for questioning as witnesses on the morning of the same day. It is known that the prosecution is asking them when they internally recognized the delay in settlements, the whereabouts of the unpaid sales proceeds, and whether they are aware of the company's cash flow.

Koo Young-bae, CEO of Qoo10 Group, is attending an emergency inquiry related to the 'Timon and Wemakeprice settlement and refund delay incident' held at the National Assembly's Political Affairs Committee on the 30th. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

Last month, Head Kwon directed on-site refunds at TMON's office in Sinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, and apologized for the refund delays. Regarding the rumored 60 billion KRW support from Qoo10, he stated, "It is funds located in China," and added, "Since CEO Koo Young-bae is the one who should use it, no decision has been made yet on how much and where to allocate it." He also mentioned that he heard this secondhand and that it may not be accurate.

The prosecution is investigating suspicions that TMEP continued contracts with partner vendors and sold goods despite knowing that it was difficult to pay sales proceeds on time due to cash flow shortages. The prosecution is tentatively considering the estimated unpaid seller amounts from May to July, approximately 1 trillion KRW, as fraud committed by the parent company Qoo10 Group and the management of the two companies. The 40 billion KRW of TMEP funds used by Qoo10 in February to acquire Wish, a global online shopping mall based in North America and Europe, is also being viewed as embezzlement by the management.

The prosecution officially launched the investigation by conducting searches and seizures at TMEP's office and CEO Koo's residence on the 1st, just three days after forming the dedicated investigation team. The next day, they summoned Lee Si-jun, Qoo10's Chief Financial Officer (Executive Director), known as a 'key figure' in TMEP's financial situation, for questioning as a witness. They are accelerating the investigation by conducting forensic analysis of seized materials and summoning company officials simultaneously.