- Continuing to Supplement the 1.6 Trillion KRW Liquidity Supply Plan, Including Consideration of Loan Interest Rate Reductions
- Rapid Identification of Unsettled Payment Damages in Other E-Commerce Companies such as Interpark Commerce
- Soon to be Prepared: Amendments to the 'Large-Scale Distribution Business Act' and the 'Electronic Financial Transactions Act' to Prevent Recurrence
First Vice Minister Kim Beom-seok of the Ministry of Economy and Finance held a meeting with the task force (TF) of related ministries on August 23 (Friday) at 15:40 in the Government Complex Seoul to discuss the status of damages to consumers and sellers from the Wemakeprice and TMON incidents, the implementation status of the support measures prepared in three stages*, and directions for further supplementation.
- (First Stage, July 29) Response Measures for the Wemakeprice and TMON Incidents (Second Stage, August 7) Additional Response Measures and System Improvement Directions for the Wemakeprice and TMON Incidents (Third Stage, August 21) Status of Implementation and Future Plans for the Response Measures to the Wemakeprice and TMON Incidents
Overview of the TF Meeting on the Wemakeprice and TMON Incidents:
▸ Date/Time: August 23, 2024 (Friday) 15:40~17:00 / Government Complex Seoul
▸ Participants: First Vice Minister of MOEF, Vice Minister, Director General for Policy Coordination, Secretary General of the Korea Fair Trade Commission, Secretary General of the Financial Services Commission, Director General for SME Policy of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, Director General for Medium Enterprise Policy of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Director General for Local Economy Support of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, Senior Deputy Governor of the Financial Supervisory Service
According to the investigation by the Financial Supervisory Service, the total amount of unsettled payments that Wemakeprice and TMON are unable to pay to sellers has been finalized at 1.3 trillion KRW. The major affected industries are digital/electronics, gift certificates, and food industries in that order. The number of affected companies is estimated at around 48,000, with about 90% of them being companies with unsettled amounts less than 10 million KRW. However, in terms of total amount, about 88% of the unsettled payments are concentrated in companies with unsettled amounts of 100 million KRW or more (981 companies).
To fully support the difficulties faced by affected companies, the government has decided to actively supplement the 1.6 trillion KRW liquidity supply plan* it had previously prepared by reflecting feedback from the field. As of August 21, the cumulative amount of financial support decisions by the Korea SMEs and Startups Agency (KOSMES), Small & Medium Business Corporation (SBC), Korea Credit Guarantee Fund (KODIT), and Korea Development Bank (KDB) has reached 35 billion KRW. To ensure that the support funds are smoothly provided to the affected companies, the government will accelerate the fund disbursement process and consider measures to ease the financial burden on affected companies, such as lowering loan interest rates. Additionally, the government plans to expand the provision of information and promotion of about 1 trillion KRW in local government funds to the affected companies through cooperation with relevant ministries such as the Financial Services Commission, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, the Ministry of Economy and Finance, and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety.
- Central Government 630 billion KRW+α, Local Governments 1 trillion KRW+α
In today's meeting, the issue of unsettled payments in other e-commerce companies, such as Interpark Commerce, which do not engage in payment gateway (PG) services, was also discussed. The government plans to swiftly assess the damage situation, led by the Fair Trade Commission, and based on this, will review the future response direction.
To prevent a recurrence of incidents like this, the government is pushing for fundamental system improvements across the industry. To support this, it is preparing amendments to the 'Large-Scale Distribution Business Act' and the 'Electronic Financial Transactions Act.' In today's meeting, key legislative issues such as the scope of law application, reduction of settlement cycles, and separate management of sales proceeds were discussed. The government plans to prepare and announce the main framework of the system improvement plan based on today's discussions soon.