People who paid for airline tickets or travel products with credit cards on Tmon and WEMAKEPRICE INC. (T-MEP) but were unable to use the services will get back about 13 billion won.
The Financial Supervisory Service said on Jan. 9 that it convened a dispute mediation committee on Jan. 8 and decided to order card companies to refund payments to consumers, judging that T-MEP consumers were justified in exercising their right to withdraw subscription under the Installment Transactions Act (installment withdrawal right).
The right to withdraw subscription is a right that guarantees consumers can cancel payment or refuse to pay the remaining installments if there is a problem with the goods or services they purchased. This right can be exercised when the transaction amount is 200,000 won or more and the installment period is three months or longer. The Installment Transactions Act and the standard terms and conditions for individual credit card members stipulate that, if the right to withdraw subscription is recognized, installments already paid must be returned and the remaining installment debt extinguished.
As of the end of last year, complaints filed with the FSS and nine card companies over installment payments for T-MEP travel, airline, and lodging products totaled 11,696 cases, with the disputed amount at about 13.2 billion won. The dispute committee carried out mediation on two representative cases. According to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), a person surnamed A bought an overseas travel product on Tmon in Feb. 2024 and paid 4.94 million won in full. In Jul. of the same year, a large-scale non-settlement incident occurred at Tmon, and the product vendor notified A of refusal to perform the travel contract. A then canceled the payment through Tmon and exercised the right to withdraw subscription with card company B.
The dispute committee decided that A legitimately exercised the right to withdraw subscription and that no special grounds applied to restrict withdrawal, and ordered card company B to refund the full amount of the installments (payment).
A person surnamed C purchased a Jeju Air ticket in five monthly installments from a vendor on Tmon in May 2024. C paid two installments out of a total of 530,000 won, leaving 310,000 won in remaining installments. Afterward, due to the Tmon incident, the vendor notified C that the ticket could not be used and that issuance was canceled. C canceled the payment through Tmon and exercised the right to withdraw subscription and the right to defense against installment claims with card company D.
The dispute committee decided that card company D must refund C the full amount of the installments and also waive the remaining installment debt.
This dispute mediation is established if both parties accept the proposal within 20 days from the date it is presented. The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) plans to encourage private settlements between consumers and card companies for other installment payments for travel, airline, and lodging products based on the dispute committee's mediation cases.
An FSS official said the decision is meaningful in that it clarifies card companies' responsibility in installment transactions and seeks to provide practical relief for consumers who have suffered prolonged damage due to the T-MEP incident.