Government provides over 560 billion won liquidity for TMON and WeMakePrice incident

The government has decided to allocate at least 560 billion won ($445.07 million) in funds to support small merchants suffering from payment delays from e-commerce platforms TMON and WeMakePrice, the Finance Ministry said on Monday.

The two South Korean marketplaces are in crisis after being unable to pay their suppliers due to liquidity problems of their owner, Singapore-based Qoo10, which are said to be caused by aggressive merger deals.

During an extraordinary meeting of a government-wide task force, the government decided to provide 200 billion won in public funds and another 300 billion won in loan guarantees to small traders.

According to the ministry, an additional 60 billion won is available for travel agencies that are particularly affected by the payment delays.

The government has also unveiled a series of support measures for sellers, including extending tax payment deadlines and helping them find new business channels.

Their unpaid bills amounted to around 210 billion won and it is feared that this amount will continue to rise.

“The two companies must take responsibility for the default,” First Vice Finance Minister Kim Beom-seok said during the meeting. “But the government has decided to extend support to customers and sellers to minimize the damage by mobilizing all possible resources.” (Yonhap)