Representative Arrest, Website Shutdown... The Realizing Fear of Merge 'Meoktwi'

Merger Point Website Recently Temporarily Shut Down
Rumors of 'December Closure' Circulate Among Victims
Slow Refund Speed and Normalization Efforts Constantly Criticized
Users Express Concerns Over Potential Loss of Funds

In front of the headquarters of 'Merge Point' in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul.

There are concerns that the Merge Point incident, which caused a massive refund crisis, may come to an end without compensating consumers for their damages. The CEO is effectively unable to conduct business activities due to being detained, and with the website and office closed, rumors of a "December closure" have surfaced. Although dispute resolution systems and class-action lawsuits are underway, there is growing anxiety that even if consumers win, there may be no money to recover.

According to industry sources on the 16th, the Merge Point website recently displayed a message stating that the domain site could not be connected when accessed. Despite the application (app) still operating, the temporary closure of the website led to voices on user communities and social networking services (SNS) questioning whether the company had gone bankrupt. There are also speculations that the company lacked personnel or funds to pay for domain service fees.

Merge Point was once a company that secured about one million members by advertising a 20% discount benefit at approximately 20,000 affiliated stores. In August, it was revealed to be an unregistered electronic financial business operator, and as it drastically reduced its affiliated stores, a refund chaos ensued.

The background of consumers' anxiety lies in the deteriorating management environment of Merge Plus. The responsible parties, CEO Kwon Nam-hee and Chief Operating Officer (CSO) Kwon Bo-gun, have been detained by the court. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s Financial Crime Investigation Unit applied for arrest warrants on charges including violation of the Electronic Financial Transactions Act. The court issued the warrants citing the possibility of flight.

Slow Refunds and Normalization Plans Also Ineffective... "What If We Don’t Get Our Money?"

The fourth-floor office of Merge Point in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, is also empty. This was the place where users flocked to receive their money as recently as August. Even when the police conducted a search and seizure for investigation, it was used as an annex of Merge Plus, but it currently appears unable to function as a workspace.

The normalization plan proposed by CEO Kwon has also failed to gain consumers’ trust. Kwon personally appeared at the National Assembly audit and stated, "We are proceeding with refunds sequentially along with business normalization." Recently, he suggested converting Merge Point into "Merge Coin," but the limited places to use it and payment restrictions cause significant inconvenience to consumers. Additionally, there are many criticisms that converting to Merge Coin makes refunds virtually impossible, labeling it a trick.

The slow refund process is another factor fueling consumers’ concerns. As of the end of October, the refund requests received by Merge Plus amounted to 57 billion KRW (330,000 cases). Of this, the amount actually refunded is known to be only a few billion KRW.

Accordingly, Merge users have filed a collective dispute resolution request with the Korea Consumer Agency. Dispute resolution allows consumers to receive compensation and reimbursement from companies without civil litigation. However, the actual process is expected to begin only in March of the following year. Separately, 148 Merge Point victims have hired a law firm and filed a damages claim lawsuit against Merge Plus at the Seoul Central District Court.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.