Prosecutors launch internal legal review of TMON and WeMakePrice incident

A special task force meeting regarding payment delays of WeMakePrice and TMON will be held at the Government Complex Seoul in Jongno District, Seoul on July 29. Yonhap

The public prosecutor’s office has begun examining whether charges could be brought against the e-commerce platforms WeMakePrice and TMON because of delays in payments to consumers and merchants due to liquidity problems of their owner, judicial officials said on Monday.

An anti-corruption division of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office is conducting the legal review to prepare for possible complaints from financial regulators and victims of the case, which officials say has caused massive harm to victims and disrupted market order.

“We are examining various aspects as required by this case,” an official said.

The two Korean marketplaces are in crisis after they were unable to make payments to their suppliers due to liquidity problems of their owner, Singapore-based Qoo10, reportedly due to aggressive merger deals. Hundreds of customers also flocked to the headquarters of TMON and WeMakePrice to demand refunds.

If it turns out that the two marketplaces maintained the contracts with the sellers and sold goods even though they knew they would not be able to repay the sales proceeds in a timely manner, they could be accused of fraud, according to judicial officials.

Officials also suspect that TMON and WeMakePrice management could be accused of embezzlement and breach of trust if they used funds belonging to sellers for other purposes to expand their business. (Yonhap)