Tmon and sister company WeMakePrice have been delaying payments to sellers since early July, prompting businesses to withdraw from the sites.
Customers are requesting cash refunds since payment gateway agencies began to suspend credit card transactions Tuesday, blocking cancellations for existing transactions.
Angry protesters gathered in the company's office building late Thursday demanding their money back. Earlier in the day, Tmon closed the building as it planned to handle the process online.
In the face of the protest, the company started on-site processing around 2 a.m. Friday. As the news spread, hundreds of customers queued outside the office before dawn. By 8 a.m., dozens of customers reportedly received their money back.
Kwon Do-wan, head of Tmon's operations division, met the customers at 12:40 a.m. and apologized for the delayed response.
“We are truly sorry that our response was much more delayed compared to WeMakePrice's,” he said.
Kwon explained that payments are delayed due to financial constraints, and the company is prioritizing travel products as it is vacation season.
As for WeMakePrice, its CEO had personally visited customers Thursday to process repayments and explain the situation. By 8 a.m. Friday, WeMakePrice refunded about 2,000 customers, largely for travel products.
The payment crisis, stemming from a liquidity shortage involving the two firms' Singapore-based parent company, Qoo10, is fast spreading across sectors including the travel, accommodation, electronics, food, gaming and entertainment industries.
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