Cash-crunched Tmon begins refund process for customers

Customers seeking refunds wait at Tmon's headquarters in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, on Friday. (Yonhap)

Tmon, an online marketplace platform owned by Singapore-based e-commerce company Qoo10, on Friday, started issuing refunds to customers who did not receive their products purchased on the platform hit by a liquidity crisis.

This move comes a day after the CEO of WeMakePrice, another affiliate of Qoo10, offered an apology and began issuing refunds as hundreds of consumers visited the headquarters of the online marketplace platform.

Tmon and WeMakePrice, which were acquired by Qoo10 in 2022 and 2023, respectively, are facing liquidity issues. Both companies have failed to pay money owed to sellers for purchases made on their platforms since May, causing major delivery setbacks.

According to local reports, consumers who did not receive their products or refunds, despite their requests, visited Tmon’s headquarters in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, on Thursday night after learning of WeMakePrice's refunds.

Tmon officials who appeared at the headquarters around 12:40 a.m. on Friday explained that the firm has secured nearly 4 billion won ($2.88 million) in cash for compensation, although the exact details of the plan for the entire refund were not immediately disclosed. The company collected names, order numbers and phone numbers from the on-site customers for refunds.

In the meantime, it was reported that over 2,000 customers have received refunds from WeMakePrice. Despite the company's initial mishandling of the refund procedures for the large gathering of customers, around 1,400 people received refunds on Thursday, with hundreds more receiving funds on Friday morning.

According to the state-run Korea Consumer Agency, a total of 4,399 consultations were submitted from Sunday through Thursday regarding refunds from Tmon and WeMakePrice. Of these, Tmon accounted for 3,654 cases, while WeMakePrice handled 745 cases.

Financial regulatory authorities reported Thursday that Tmon and WeMakePrice have informed the agency of approximately 170 billion won in due payments, which includes amounts owed to both sellers and customers.