FILE PHOTO: A person passes in front of TMON headquarters amid WeMakePrice and TMON, owned by Singapore-based e-commerce platform Qoo10, are facing increasingly delayed payments, in Seoul, South Korea, July 24, 2024. Yonhap via REUTERS/File Photo
SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea's financial authorities will provide at least 560 billion won ($404.55 million) of liquidity support to small businesses having trouble due to recent payment delays by e-commerce platforms, the finance ministry said on Monday.
"The government will utilise all available resources to minimise damage," vice finance minister Kim Beok-seok said.
Last week, South Korean authorities launched an investigation into TMON and WeMakePrice, owned by Singapore-based Qoo10, after the Seoul-based e-commerce firms failed to make payments to vendors.
On Saturday, TMON and WeMakePrice said that they were making efforts to minimise damage to customers and actively notifying them of ways to cancel credit card payments.
Qoo10 has told financial authorities it would secure $50 million to remedy the situation, but no detailed plan has been submitted, the Financial Services Commission said on Sunday.
($1 = 1,384.2700 won)
(Reporting by Jihoon Lee; Editing by Ed Davies)
