Final Unsettled Amount on Timf Reaches 1.3 Trillion Won... 48,000 Affected Companies

The Major Affected Industries Are Digital and Home Appliances

At the meeting on relief measures for small business owners affected by T-Mef held at the National Assembly Members' Office Building on the 22nd, government officials are answering questions from the victims. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

The final tally of damages from the unsettled payments incident involving TMON and WEMAKEPRICE (TMEP) has reached 1.3 trillion KRW. The total number of affected companies is 48,000, among which 1,000 companies suffered damages exceeding 100 million KRW.

The government announced this at the 'TMEP Incident Related Government Ministries Task Force (TF) Meeting' held on the 23rd at the Government Seoul Office, chaired by Kim Beom-seok, First Vice Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance.

The Financial Supervisory Service reported that the total amount of unsettled payments for TMEP sales proceeds reached 1.3 trillion KRW. The major affected industries were identified in order as digital & electronics, gift certificates, and food sectors.

The number of affected companies is approximately 48,000, with about 90% of them having unsettled amounts under 10 million KRW. However, by amount, about 88% of the unsettled funds were concentrated among 981 companies with unsettled amounts exceeding 100 million KRW. By region, the largest damages were in Seoul, followed by Incheon & Gyeonggi, and Daejeon & Chungcheong.

The government stated that it will accelerate the disbursement speed of support funds to ensure smooth supply to affected companies, while also considering measures to ease the financial burden on these companies, such as lowering loan interest rates.

As of the 21st, the cumulative amount of financial support decisions from SOJIN-GONG, JUNGJIN-GONG, Shinbo, and KIEUN, which began accepting applications on the 9th, totals 35 billion KRW. Regarding approximately 1 trillion KRW in local government funds, the Financial Services Commission, Ministry of SMEs and Startups, Ministry of Economy and Finance, and Ministry of the Interior and Safety will collaborate to expand information provision and promotion to affected companies.

During the meeting, the issue of unsettled damages for e-commerce companies that do not concurrently operate electronic payment gateway (PG) services, such as Interpark Commerce, was also discussed. The government plans to promptly assess the damage status centered on the Fair Trade Commission and review response directions.

Meanwhile, to prevent recurrence of the incident, the government is preparing amendments to the 'Large-scale Distribution Business Act' and the 'Electronic Financial Transactions Act.' The meeting discussed key legislative tasks such as the scope of law application, shortening settlement cycles, and separate management of sales proceeds. Based on the discussions, the government plans to soon prepare and announce the main points of the institutional improvement plan.