Naver, Kakao ban sales through TMON and WeMakePrice

Concerns are being raised about the restricted liquidity of Qoo10 Group, which needs to resolve delayed payments to sellers of TMON and WeMakePrice. The concerns of sellers who haven’t received payouts due to the liquidity issue are growing.

On Friday, Naver Shopping and Daum Shopping suspended sales through TMON and WeMakePrice to prevent damage to consumers. Products sold on TMON and WeMakePrice are not shown in the search results on Naver and Daum Shopping, starting on Thursday afternoon. “We have temporarily suspended the display of products sold on TMON and WeMakePrice in the search results on Naver Shopping to prevent further damage,” a member of Naver said. “We will review resuming the service after discussions once products can be offered normally.”

Following a series of travel agents terminating contracts with TMON and WeMakePrice on Thursday, Naver and Kakao, major online platforms in South Korea, also decided to suspend the sales and advertising of products sold on TMON and WeMakePrice. As payment gateways and major sellers left, TMON and WeMakePrice are practically engaging in no business. While sufficient liquidity should be secured to resolve the issue of delayed payments, no liquidity is added as products aren't sold.

The Financial Services Commission plans to provide an emergency fund as a special guarantee to small sellers who experienced losses as soon as the Financial Supervisory Service’s investigation is completed. The measure is intended to prevent a series of bankruptcies of sellers who haven’t received payouts.

“An emergency fund can be provided to sellers, with the Industrial Bank of Korea being responsible for the fund and the Korea Credit Guarantee Fund implementing a special guarantee,” a member of the Financial Services Commission said. “We are working with the Ministry of SMEs and Startups to find solutions as the ministry has an emergency business stabilization fund.” The Financial Supervisory Service is investigating the unpaid amount and affected sellers. The funds will be provided after the investigation is finished.


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