Many corporations that suffered from the T-MEP (TMON·WeMakePrice) settlement issue are in a serious condition to the extent that they are considering bankruptcy.
The representative of the Black Umbrella (Emergency Countermeasures Committee for the T-MEP Issue) said on the morning of the 14th during a meeting titled "Explanation of Support Projects for T-MEP Affected Corporations and Listening to Concerns" held at the National Assembly member's office building. He noted, "The T-MEP issue that began last July is nearing one year, but the corporations involved have yet to receive a single penny back."
The meeting was hosted by Commissioner Kim Dong-ah of the Democratic Party of Korea, who is a member of the National Assembly's Committee on Industry, Trade, Resources, and Small and Medium Enterprises. Representatives from affected corporations due to the T-MEP issue and officials from the Korea SMEs and Startups Agency (KOSME) attended.
KOSME announced that it will promote a recovery consulting project targeted at small and medium enterprises that lack the ability to implement recovery procedures or have difficulty securing the costs of using external experts. It plans to support legal procedures, accounting, and financial documentation for all corporations that have not applied for recovery with the court or have already done so.
KOSME also plans to inject government funds to partially support consulting expenses in this process. The support ratio from the government against the total expenses is set based on the corporation's asset size: ▲ under 5 billion won (90%) ▲ 5 billion to 8 billion won (72%-90%) ▲ 8 billion to 12 billion won (62%-90%) ▲ 12 billion to 20 billion won (52%-77%) ▲ 20 billion to 30 billion won (43%-63%) ▲ 30 billion to 50 billion won (37%-54%). The maximum support expense per corporation is 30 million won.
Sim Chan-bo, the Minister of KOSME, explained, "Corporate recovery is a method chosen by corporations struggling with liabilities to return to normal operations, but the process is complicated and expensive, making it difficult to access," and noted, "This project was established to assist successful progress up to obtaining a recovery plan approval."
KOSME also plans to operate a "Career Path Consulting" project aimed at corporations predicted to experience management deterioration or already facing difficulties. It will analyze the financial statements of the corporations, diagnose their current states, and support those with an estimated borrowing fund defense period of less than six months through recovery consulting.
However, affected corporations expressed disappointment over the government's response. A representative from Company A said, "Is it right for the government to bring in measures to assist recovery applications for corporations struggling because of the T-MEP issue?" and added, "Corporate recovery is possible for companies that manage both manufacturing facilities and distribution, but it is far removed from the story for most companies like T-MEP's affected parties that only engage in distribution."
A representative from Company B also stated, "We need to create a way for corporations to survive somehow, but the recovery consulting support policy feels like it's intended to aid in the destruction of corporations," and emphasized, "Everyone here wants to normalize their companies, even if it means incurring debt."
According to the Financial Supervisory Service, a total of 48,124 companies that did not receive payment for sales from TMON·WeMakePrice have been affected, with a cumulative unsettled amount reaching 1.27 trillion won. More than 90% of the total affected corporations are small-scale enterprises with damage amounts below 10 million won. However, 981 corporations with damages exceeding 100 million won accounted for 88% of the total unsettled amount.
Amidst predictions that the criminal trial of Kyu-Ten Group's CEO, Ku Young-bae, the parent company of T-MEP, could stretch into the next year, there are also reports of companies unable to endure and resorting to closure or bankruptcy. TMON has received an expression of interest from the early morning delivery company Oasis, but the current recovery plan's debtor repayment rate is only 0.8%.
In this situation, there have been criticisms that the government has consistently maintained a lukewarm attitude towards T-MEP affected companies. A representative from Company C noted, "Last year, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups promised to devise support measures for corporations with significant damage through one-on-one interviews, but it has yet to be delivered," and added, "As affected corporations, there are parts we have to bear, but now we don't even have a channel to express our opinions to the government."
The representative from Company D stated, "If conditions continue as they are now, there may be individuals who decide on irreversible choices as time goes by. If the government only attempts to do something after that situation occurs, it will already be too late."