"Lost 200 Million Won and Feeling Empty"... Will the Leisure Industry Be Affected by the Timeff Incident?

Ticket Usage Suspended Since 26th Last Month
Bulk Purchases During Promotion Period
Rental Company "Considering Legal Action"

Online ticket sales agencies have been notified to stop the use of leisure tickets sold on Tmon and Wemakeprice, causing leisure rental companies to suffer losses amounting to hundreds of millions of won. The delay in settlements by Tmon and Wemakeprice appears to be spreading to the leisure industry.

According to Asia Economy's report on the 13th, 'SmartInfini,' an online ticket sales agency operating on Tmon and Wemakeprice, announced on the 26th of last month that it would stop the use of Ocean World waterpark admission tickets sold through its platform. This was due to confirmed non-payment of purchase funds from Tmon. They also guided that if customers submit refund requests to Tmon, the agency would approve cancellations.

Leisure rental company CEO Mr. A made a payment for water park admission tickets through an online ticket sales agency operating on Tmon. Mr. A submitted a refund request to Tmon, but the payment window still displays a refund pending message. [Image source=Provided by reader]

However, even after refund requests were submitted, the purchase funds were not deposited, leaving leisure rental companies that bought tickets in bulk in confusion.

Leisure rental companies generate profits by purchasing large quantities of waterpark admission tickets through ticket sales agencies during the summer and reselling them on online stores. In winter, ski lift ticket sales are their main source of income. They buy tickets in bulk at prices slightly lower than the discounts offered by credit card companies to their customers, earning a margin of about 1,000 to 5,000 won per ticket.

Especially during vacation seasons, when ticket demand peaks, it is understood that these companies purchased tickets worth tens of millions to hundreds of millions of won per company just last month.

A, a 34-year-old representative of a leisure rental company, said, "We purchased 100 million won worth of waterpark admission tickets ahead of the summer vacation season. We are refunding consumers who bought tickets from our company out of our own pocket, but we do not know from whom we should get reimbursed. We submitted refund requests to Tmon, but the purchase funds have not been deposited."

B, a 54-year-old representative of a leisure rental company who purchased tickets worth 200 million won, also said, "There are more than 10 companies confirmed to have suffered damages so far. Some have suffered damages in the range of 300 to 400 million won. We are considering legal action."

Moreover, the representatives complain that a promotion by Tmon last month, which offered an 8% overlapping discount on Pay payments, caused massive losses among businesses. Representative A said, "Because the discount rate was quite high, some companies took out credit loans or overdraft accounts, expecting to make a profit."

However, the ticket sales agency claims that they themselves have not received settlement payments. SmartInfini told Asia Economy, "We received settlement payments from Tmon up to May, but we understand that the payments for June usage were not received in July."

There are concerns that this incident could lead to a contraction in the leisure industry. Leisure rental companies have had a considerable impact on the leisure industry by purchasing large quantities of waterpark admission tickets and ski lift tickets.

C, a 48-year-old representative of a damaged leisure rental company, lamented, "Leisure rental companies earn profits by selling ski lift tickets in winter and waterpark admission tickets from spring to autumn. If we become credit delinquents and our funding sources are cut off, we will not be able to continue our business."