'Timef Incident' Ministry of SMEs and Startups Focuses on Seller Protection... 200 Billion Won Invested

WEMAKEPRICE and TMON Payment Settlement Issues
Interdepartmental TF Meeting Held
Ministry of SMEs Supports Seller Protection Including Market Access

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups is focusing on protecting sellers regarding the delayed settlements of TMON and WEMAKEPRICE.

On the 29th, the government held a task force (TF) meeting involving related ministries at the Government Complex Seoul, chaired by Kim Beom-seok, the 1st Vice Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, to review the damage situation for consumers and sellers related to the unsettled sales proceeds of WEMAKEPRICE and TMON.

While announcing plans to inject more than 560 billion KRW in liquidity, over 200 billion KRW will be allocated specifically to protect sellers.

Kim Beom-seok, First Vice Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, attended the task force meeting of related ministries regarding unsettled sales payments of Wemakeprice and Tmon held at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 29th, and spoke with officials. Photo by Jo Yong-jun jun21@

First, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups will provide emergency management stabilization funds worth 200 billion KRW through policy financial institutions (Small and Medium Business Corporation and Small Enterprise and Market Service) to support affected companies. The plan is to supply liquidity at low interest rates within the limits of the delayed settlement amount or the emergency management stabilization fund loan limit. The support targets are small and medium-sized enterprises and small business owners.

The emergency management stabilization fund is a loan designed to support urgent funding needs for companies affected by disasters or temporary business difficulties, helping to establish a stable management foundation. The loan limit is up to 1 billion KRW within the damage amount for the Small and Medium Business Corporation, and for the Small Enterprise and Market Service, the limit has been raised from the existing 70 million KRW to 150 million KRW.

Additionally, for affected companies, requests will be made to extend the maturity and defer repayment of existing loans and guarantees by up to one year. For banks handling pre-sale loans (SC, Kookmin, Shinhan), support will be requested to extend loan maturities to prevent defaults on pre-sale loans.

Furthermore, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups will promote support for companies that were listed on TMON and WEMAKEPRICE to secure new sales channels by facilitating their entry into other online platforms. This will utilize the Ministry’s budget projects such as the online sales channel support project for small business owners and marketing support projects.

Vice Minister Kim stated, "We will extend the maturity of existing loans and guarantees for affected companies by up to one year and provide interest subsidy support up to 60 billion KRW for travel agencies and others. We will also promote tax administration support such as extending the payment deadlines for comprehensive income tax and value-added tax by up to nine months and early payment of VAT refunds."

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