Gov't mulls additional financial support over Qoo10 incident
Prosecutors conduct search and seizure operations at the Qoo10 headquarters in Gangnam District, Seoul, Aug. 1. Yonhap
Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok vowed Thursday to seek measures to extend additional financial support for vendors and customers hit by payment delays on e-commerce platforms of TMON and WeMakePrice, if needed.
Choi made the remarks during a macroeconomic meeting, also pledging to swiftly devise policy measures and regulations to prevent such incidents from recurring.
The two online marketplaces owned by the Singapore-based Qoo10 filed for corporate rehabilitation in the Seoul Bankruptcy Court earlier this week after failing to make payments to sellers using their platforms since early July.
The government estimates the overdue payments to come to 210 billion won ($153.4 million), and the amount is feared to grow further.
In an effort to support small merchants and customers, the financial authorities said they will provide low-interest loans and extend repayments of existing loans and on tax payments worth at least 560 billion won combined.
"The government will swiftly implement supportive measures and seek ways of extending additional liquidity support if necessary to minimize damage to customers and sellers," Choi said.
It will also review the electronic transaction act and other relevant regulations, and present supplementary rules to prevent a recurrence of such cases.
The financial authorities have faced criticism for their failure to properly oversee the platforms and the industry as Qoo10's aggressive merger deals have reportedly caused the liquidity crisis.
Qoo10 founder and chief Ku Young-bae has said that Qoo10 had "temporarily" used TMON and WeMakePrice's capital in its acquisition of Wish, a global e-commerce platform, in February, but that the money has since been returned.
On Thursday, prosecutors raided the headquarters of TMON and WeMakePrice, Ku's residence and other relevant locations to secure evidence for a probe into the incident. (Yonhap)