The Seoul Rehabilitation Court confirmed on the 25th that it has established a claim for 47.6 billion won against Kyu Young-bae, chairman of Qoo10 Group, and Ryu Kwang-jin, former CEO of TMON. Chairman Kyu and former CEO Ryu are the key individuals responsible for the unresolved and unrefunded situation involving T-MEP (TMON and WeMakePrice), which amounts to over 1.8 trillion won. This court's confirmation of the claim comes amidst ongoing criminal trials involving former and current executives.
According to the judgment obtained by ChosunBiz, the Seoul Rehabilitation Court confirmed the claim for 47.6 billion won filed by Jo In-cheol, the court manager of TMON, against Chairman Kyu and former CEO Ryu. Initially, the claim amount filed by the manager Jo was 113.3 billion won, but only a portion of this was recognized.
The claim of 47.6 billion won represents the amount that TMON remitted to Qoo10 Group for maximizing synergies between affiliates. By item, this includes ▲ advance payments of 11 billion won ▲ loans of 16.6 billion won ▲ sales revenue from gift certificates amounting to 20 billion won. TMON operates under the Qoo10 Group.
During this process, the court recognized that former CEO Ryu served as TMON's CEO from October 2022 until the decision to initiate rehabilitation proceedings in September 2024, overseeing the company while Chairman Kyu exercised influence over TMON's management through the equity structure of the Qoo10 Group. The rehabilitation court stated, "Ryu Kwang-jin, as the CEO of TMON, and Kyu Young-bae, as the executive officer, can be said to have neglected their duties, causing damages to TMON," adding, "Both individuals are jointly obligated to pay 47.6 billion won to the rehabilitated debtor."
However, the court did not recognize some expenses, including the approximate 60.5 billion won loss incurred by passing costs related to QXpress onto TMON and about 5.1 billion won in fraudulent management consulting fees, due to a lack of supporting evidence. In a call with ChosunBiz, manager Jo noted, "In principle, this ruling is unusual in that the judgment should be determined only after a crime is established in a criminal trial, and if neither Chairman Kyu nor former CEO Ryu raise an objection, the claim of 47.6 billion won becomes final. We plan to request the remaining amount that was not recognized once the criminal trial concludes."
Industry insiders believe that the confirmation of the claim for damages will influence the criminal trials of the T-MEP management team. Chairman Kyu and other executives numbering 10 have been charged without detention with embezzlement, breach of trust, and fraud under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes. Additionally, Chairman Kyu, former CEO Ryu, Ryu Hwa-hyun, representative of WeMakePrice, and Kim Hyo-jong, representative of Qoo10 Technology, have also been charged without detention for delaying the payment of approximately 26 billion won in wages and retirement benefits to employees.
Park Si-hyung, the representative attorney of Seongkyung Law Firm, said, "The confirmation of the claim investigation ruling is a type of civil suit. If civil responsibility were not established, the issue would not even be raised in the criminal trial, but the current situation is the opposite. Since the civil responsibility of the management has been partially recognized, it could indirectly influence the more stringent criminal trial regarding accountability."
A representative of the affected vendor from the T-MEP case stated, "The rehabilitation court also recognized the management's embezzlement and responsibility, and the judiciary judging the ongoing criminal trial cannot ignore this ruling."
Meanwhile, Chairman Kyu and former CEO Ryu, along with some executives, have requested a merger hearing regarding the wage delay incident. The merger hearing is a procedure in which multiple cases against the same defendant are combined for efficiency and fairness, allowing defendants to consolidate their sentencing in a single ruling, potentially reducing the severity of their penalty.
In response, Shin Jeong-gwon, the chairperson of the 'Black Umbrella Emergency Countermeasure Committee', representing victims of the T-MEP incident, stated, "The logic applied in the two trials is entirely different, and it can only be interpreted that the management is seeking to lower their sentence by requesting a merger hearing," adding, "We plan to submit a statement of opposition regarding the request for the merger hearing to the court."