Small Business Association Urges Swift Measures to Prevent Recurrence of 'Timeff Incident'

The Korea Federation of Micro Enterprise Associations urged the establishment of measures to prevent recurrence in relation to the delayed settlement incident involving TMON and WEMAKEPRICE.

On the 30th, the Federation stated, "We strongly condemn the management of TMON and WEMAKEPRICE and call for responsible actions regarding the damages suffered by small business owners on the platforms, as well as the establishment of measures to prevent recurrence."

On the 29th, TMON and WEMAKEPRICE filed for corporate rehabilitation, putting tenant businesses in a situation where it is difficult to receive full payment for their sales.

In response, the Federation explained, "The trust of small business owners who have maintained business relationships based on trust with the platforms and their expectation that the managers and executives would resolve the payment issues have been shattered. The affected small business owners cannot even predict when or how much of their sales payments will be settled. Above all, small enterprises that cannot bear the damages caused by unsettled payments are highly likely to face a chain of bankruptcies."

They added, "Besides TMON and WEMAKEPRICE, cases of unsettled payments have also emerged in other internet shopping malls. Unlike laws such as the 'Act on Consumer Protection in Electronic Commerce,' which protect consumers, there is a lack of regulations to protect tenant small business owners who are equally in a vulnerable position, which is problematic," they pointed out.

Accordingly, the Federation urged Koo Young-bae, CEO of Qoo10, who holds fundamental responsibility for the unsettled payment incident at TMON and WEMAKEPRICE, to immediately fulfill his personal financial contribution promise to pay the sales proceeds.

They also demanded that the government and the National Assembly promptly enact legal provisions specifying that sales payments must be settled within 10 days, reflecting the fact that many platforms currently used by small business owners complete settlements within 3 to 10 days at the latest.

Finally, they called for the creation of legal regulations to protect sales payments similar to the Depositor Protection Act, including designation of supervisory agencies, mandatory custody of sales payments, compulsory insurance for businesses above a certain scale, and explicit prohibition of using these funds for other business purposes.

The Federation emphasized, "This unsettled payment incident involving TMON and WEMAKEPRICE fundamentally stems from insufficient protection measures for tenant businesses despite the rapid growth and expansion of e-commerce. We strongly urge the government and the National Assembly to promptly enact and revise necessary legislative regulations to prevent recurrence of damages to consumers and tenant businesses."

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