Damage compensation lawsuit filed
“Suspected of fraud, embezzlement, and misappropriation”, Consumers who suffered from the delay in settlement funds by e-commerce platforms WeMakePrice and TMON filed a group lawsuit against Goo Young-bae, CEO of Coupang, and others with the police on the 29th. The victims are also planning to file a civil lawsuit against Coupang demanding an unfair profit return by the end of the day.
On this day, legal firm Sim & Sim, representing the victim consumers, submitted a criminal complaint to the Gangnam Police Station against five individuals, including the CEO, on charges of fraud, embezzlement, and misappropriation under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes.
Lawyer Sim stated, “We judged that operating an online shopping mall without being able to pay the settlement funds is one form of phone fraud” and claimed that “Illegally using funds to expand Q Express and negligent management of the company constitute embezzlement and misappropriation.”
In relation to CEO Goo’s announcement of taking steps to resolve the situation through stake sales, Lawyer Sim reiterated their position to continue with the criminal proceedings, stating, “This is a post-event measure for recovery of damages, and the damage has already occurred.”
Regarding the amount of damage, Lawyer Sim mentioned, “There are cases where sellers have suffered tens of billions of won in damages,” and estimated that the actual damage amount could be upwards of hundreds of billions of won.
The affected consumers are also planning to file a civil lawsuit at the Seoul Central District Court later this day demanding payment of refund amounts. Lawyer Sim stated, “We will proceed with the demand for unfair profit return for consumers who have not received refunds despite canceled transactions, and we plan to file a lawsuit for damages against travel agencies demanding double payment.” Additionally, they announced plans to submit complaints against sellers who are victims on the 2nd of next month.
According to financial authorities, some consumers who purchased travel products and gift certificates on TMON and WeMakePrice from this month did not receive refunds after canceling transactions. It has been confirmed that sellers who sold goods here also did not receive settlement payments. The total amount of unverified sales settlements estimated by financial authorities so far is 1.662 trillion won for May. If the figures for June and July are added, the damage amount is expected to increase.