“Concerns about a repeat of the Timev incident”… Daeryun Law Firm ‘Balan’ Recovery Task Force Launched

Daeryun, leading civil and criminal litigation during the Timef incident
“Preemptive response required” for ‘Balan’ rehabilitation application

Daeryun Law Firm announced on the 2nd that it has formed a legal support task force (TF) to support victims following the rehabilitation application for the online luxury goods trading platform ‘Balan’.

Through this TF, Daeryun plans to develop a multifaceted legal response, including relief for damage to consumers and sellers, analysis of the platform's fund management structure, review of criminal liability, and class action lawsuits.

The task force will be staffed by more than 10 professionals, including lawyers, accountants, tax accountants, and IT legal experts from Daeryun Corporate Legal Group. Regarding the launch of this TF, attorney Daeryun Son Gye-jun, who is in charge of the corporate legal group, said, “The Balan incident is an example that shows the structural risks that can occur in a typical consumer trust-based platform,” and emphasized, “It is necessary to carefully review complex legal issues such as the platform’s fund management method and the illegality of its terms and conditions beyond the simple refund issue.”

The TF was led by Attorney Son and joined by Attorney Shin Jong-soo, who is an expert in corporate law and taxation and was also active in the ‘Timon/WeMakePrice (TimePrice) incident.’ In addition, △Attorney Bang In-tae, a labor lawyer and corporate litigation expert registered with the Korean Bar Association, △Attorney Won-sang Kim, a corporate rehabilitation and bankruptcy expert with experience participating in the Korea Pizza Hut lawsuit, △Attorney Min-hee Ji, a former in-house lawyer with extensive experience in fair trade and patents, △Attorney Sang-hyeok Jeong, a human resources and labor expert who has served as a member of deliberation and investigation committees for numerous companies, △An investigation by the Fair Trade Commission, etc. Attorney Hee-gon Cho, who has extensive experience in corporate litigation and advisory, △ Attorney Seo-young Kim, who has handled numerous rehabilitation and bankruptcy cases as an insolvency lawyer registered with the Korean Bar Association, and △ Attorney Young-jae Nam, former head of legal affairs at a POSCO Group affiliate, will join the task force.

In addition, labor attorney Nam Seo-hye, who has provided labor legal advice to many companies in IT, service, and distribution, and accountant Park Won-chan, who has experience conducting accounting audits at many large corporations and public institutions, will take a comprehensive response by reviewing areas such as accounting and labor.

Daeryun led civil and criminal lawsuits on behalf of sellers who suffered damage from non-payment of settlement fees during the ‘Timeef Incident’ last year. At the time, Daeryun received attention for his proactive response, including suing Q10 Group executives on charges of fraud and breach of trust. Daeryun believes that this Balan incident also has similar structural problems and believes that a preemptive response is needed. Through this TF, Daeryun plans to review not only the problem of delayed refunds by consumers, but also the problem of unsettled payments by sellers, credit card cancellation refusals, and violations of terms and conditions, as well as all other issues. In addition, we plan to implement group response procedures in parallel depending on whether the damage spreads.

Attorney Son said, “Following the Timeef incident and the Balan incident, the opaque settlement system and fund management method of e-commerce platforms is emerging as a major problem.” He added, “Through this task force, we will not only provide practical legal assistance to victims, but will also strive to prepare institutional improvement measures for the overall platform industry based on advice from Daeryun experts.”

Meanwhile, on the 31st of last month, Balan faced difficulties in attracting investment funds and faced a liquidity crunch, so it applied for corporate rehabilitation procedures at the Seoul Rehabilitation Court. As a result, problems with settlement delays occurred, raising concerns that the Timef incident might be repeated. Balan said, “No financial damage has occurred to general consumers, and the amount of unpaid commercial receivables is less than Balan’s monthly transaction amount,” and announced that it would attract a buyer before rehabilitation approval and repay the full amount of unpaid receivables.

Choi Oh-hyeon (ohyo@edaily.co.kr)

[View full article]
Edaily - "Concerns about a repeat of the Timef incident"... Daeryun Law Firm ‘Balan’ Recovery Task Force Launched (Click here)
Korea Economic TV - "The second Timef incident must be prevented"... Dae-ryun forms an Avengers team to provide legal support for the ‘Balan incident’ (link)
Asian Economy - ‘Concern of a second Timeef’ Balan non-settlement situation, Daeryun legal support TF launched (link)
Segye Ilbo - Luxury goods platform ‘Balan’ applies for corporate rehabilitation… Daeryun launches legal support task force (link)
Jikssul - Daeryun launches legal support task force for ‘Balan incident’ (link)