2024-08-01 21:30:40
[티몬-위메프 사태]
By pulling the settlement money, it is effectively a financial business
Discounted gift certificates have the effect of issuing corporate bonds
Financial authorities: “No obligation to supervise e-commerce”
Timon and WeMakePrice have been operating like quasi-financial companies, managing 1 trillion won in monthly sales settlements like pocket money, but there are claims that the financial authorities have turned a blind eye to regulation and supervision. The argument is that the financial authorities have neglected the fact that e-commerce companies are effectively financial companies, taking customers’ money and moving it around, and that this situation has erupted because they are not financial companies.
According to the industry, there are currently no laws that stipulate the deadline for e-commerce companies to settle their sales proceeds. This is why Timon and WeMakePrice were able to hold onto the money they received from consumers and the settlement money they owed to sellers for over 40 days. Financial authorities estimate that the settlement money Timon and WeMakePrice are holding onto for a month amounts to 1 trillion won.
While sellers were waiting for settlement for over a month, Timon and WeMakePrice were able to use the money for other purposes. The financial authorities were unable to stop them from using the settlement money to pay off debts or expand their businesses. The financial industry is raising the possibility that Timon and WeMakePrice were effectively taking customer funds without interest and operating them like unlicensed investment firms.
There are also claims that the two companies have effectively issued corporate bonds by issuing gift certificates. Timon and WeMakePrice are in such poor financial condition that they are in a state of capital impairment that they cannot raise funds by issuing corporate bonds in the market. Instead, the two companies have recently succeeded in raising emergency funds by selling gift certificates at a 7-8% discount. A high-ranking official from the financial authorities stated, “We are considering that the act of selling gift certificates at a significant discount while knowing that it would be difficult to settle the payment could be subject to fraud.”
Another problem is that the financial authorities knew about the capital erosion situation of Timon and WeMakePrice two years ago, but did not properly inspect and improve it. The Financial Supervisory Service received quarterly reports on the company’s situation through a business agreement with Timon and WeMakePrice in 2022 and 2023, but never went on an on-site inspection before the situation broke out.
A Financial Services Commission official said, “It is not right for financial authorities to supervise and manage e-commerce that includes some fund settlement functions,” and added, “We plan to soon hold discussions with the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, the Fair Trade Commission, and other relevant ministries.”
The financial authorities are belatedly pushing forward with institutional measures to force funds brought in for seller settlement purposes to be used only for settlement. The Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service have stated that they will encourage the signing of escrow (deposit of payment) contracts with financial institutions such as banks.
Reporter Jeon Ju-young [email protected]
Reporter Shin Moo-kyung [email protected]
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2024-08-01 21:30:40