Two Korean ecommerce platforms stopped paying sellers in the same week

TMON (Ticket Monster) and WeMakePrice were South Korean e-commerce platforms affiliated under the Qoo10 Group, the Singapore-based online retail company. Both operated as open marketplaces connecting third-party sellers with consumers. In July 2024, the two platforms simultaneously missed payments to their vendors — the settlements that sellers depend on to fund their own inventory and operations. The crisis, quickly labelled 'TMEF' in Korean media, affected thousands of buyers and sellers.

On 29 July 2024, both companies filed for court receivership at the Seoul Bankruptcy Court. The liquidity crisis was traced to their parent, Qoo10 Group, whose own financial difficulties left the Korean affiliates unable to meet their obligations. Court-led rehabilitation began, but no viable turnaround plan emerged. Sellers who had shipped goods through the platforms faced the prospect of never recovering what they were owed.

In September 2025, the court terminated WeMakePrice's rehabilitation proceedings, stating there was no prospect of recovery. On 10 November 2025, the Seoul Bankruptcy Court declared WeMakePrice bankrupt, ruling that 'the liquidation value of the debtor's business exceeds its going-concern value.' TMON was acquired by local food delivery company Oasis in June 2025, but its outlook remained uncertain. Two once-prominent platforms in Korea's fiercely competitive e-commerce market were reduced to a cautionary footnote about parent-company contagion.