Timonfraud Victims Take Joint Action... Launch of Black Umbrella Emergency Committee

Demand for Compensation Recovery and Resolution of E-commerce Issues

Victims affected by the large-scale non-payment of sales proceeds by TMON and WEMAKEPRICE (TMEP) took joint action on the 18th by establishing the 'Black Umbrella Victims Emergency Response Committee' (Black Umbrella ERC).

The 'TMEP Victims Group' held a 'Black Umbrella' rally in front of the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul, where the Financial Services Commission is located, around 4 p.m. on the same day, stating, "We have established the emergency response committee to demand a swift resolution of the damages and prevention of future harm regarding this incident."

Approximately 180 people participated in the rally, according to the organizers. Participants dressed in black tops and bottoms and wearing masks attached stickers with slogans such as "Enact a special law to urge quick relief measures for victims" and "Arrest and prosecute Koo Young-bae, confiscate assets" to black umbrellas, shouting, "Do not treat victims like criminals, enact a special law," and "There should be no victims tomorrow, resolve this promptly."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

They also performed an act of smashing boxes with photos of Koo Young-bae, CEO of Qoo10, Ryu Kwang-jin, CEO of TMON, and Ryu Hwa-hyun, CEO of WEMAKEPRICE, using rubber hammers.

The emergency response committee explained that it will form a committee encompassing consumers, sellers, and subsequent victims to work towards a common goal. Their short-term goal is to recover the damages, and their long-term goal is to address the fundamental problems of e-commerce.

In a statement, the committee referred to the announcement by the online shopping mall Allets on the 16th about its business closure, saying, "Additional damages caused by various online platforms can be produced at any time," and urged, "Our victims' coalition has formed the emergency response committee to ensure that no more innocent victims occur and to demand countermeasures."

They also said, "In addition to TMEP, we will represent all victims of the Qoo10 group to ensure that new damage cases are not minimized or concealed," and "We will urge the enactment of a special law so that everyone using online commerce (e-commerce) will not lose trust in using online markets due to this incident."