‘Prevent recurrence of Timef incident’ e-commerce business pays sales within 20 days upon purchase confirmation < Distribution < Text of article

In order to prevent a recurrence of the TimePrice (Timon·WeMakePrice) and Q10 (TimePrice parent company) incident, which caused an unprecedented non-settlement situation, e-commerce operators are required to pay sales proceeds to store operators within 20 days when a consumer confirms a purchase. The plan is being promoted.

On the 18th, the Fair Trade Commission announced a plan to amend the Large-Scale Distribution Business Act.

Those subject to this plan are online brokerage business operators with domestic brokerage transaction profits (sales) of KRW 10 billion or more or brokerage transaction volume (sales amount) of KRW 100 billion or more.

According to the bill, these businesses must settle the sales price directly or managed by a payment agency (PG company) to the store operator within 20 days from the date the consumer confirms the purchase. We took into account that the average settlement date for businesses subject to the law is 20 days.

In the case of provision of services such as accommodations and performances, settlement must be made within 10 days from the date of actual use by the consumer.

However, if the platform or PG company does not receive the sales payment 3 business days before the settlement deadline, settlement can be made within 3 business days from the date of payment receipt.

In cases where the platform directly manages sales proceeds, it was also included in the revised plan to require more than 50% of the sales proceeds to be separately deposited in a financial institution or to subscribe to payment guarantee insurance.

Through this, even if the platform goes bankrupt, sales proceeds are paid first to store operators and they are able to receive repayment ahead of other creditors. Deposited sales proceeds cannot be seized, and the platform cannot arbitrarily transfer them or provide them as collateral.

The Fair Trade Commission decided to provide a one-year grace period for businesses to prepare for this amendment. In addition, they announced a policy to gradually reduce the sales payment settlement deadline and gradually increase the deposit ratio of sales proceeds to minimize damage to store operators in case of emergency.