Online luxury platform Balan is facing growing controversy as it delays some sales payment settlements again. While Balan's CEO stated he would announce a plan next week, sellers are expressing anxiety, fearing a second TMEF (Timon + Wemakeprice) unpayment crisis.

Choi Hyung-rok, the founder and CEO of Balan, sent a notice to its partners on the morning of the 28th, stating, "I sincerely apologize for causing concern due to the recent settlement delays." He added, "As the founder and CEO, I take the current situation seriously and am working day and night to resolve it responsibly."

CEO Choi said, "To resolve the settlement issue and normalize services, the management team, including myself, and the shareholders are considering all possibilities, from attracting external investment to structural changes, to realize the fastest and most stable recovery scenario." He continued, "We will finalize an action plan within this week, and next week, I will personally visit you (sellers) to provide a transparent explanation of the circumstances and future plans."

CEO Choi emphasized, "If the platform collapses now, it's not just a problem for Balan alone, but it could shake the trust in the entire online luxury market." He also said, "External speculative information not only increases unnecessary anxiety but can also act as a real risk." He added, "I deeply sympathize with the anxiety, fatigue, and disappointment you are feeling. Please wait a little longer. Starting next week with face-to-face communication, we will work together to create real change and solutions."

The Balan settlement delay issue surfaced on the 24th when payments scheduled for sellers were not made. Balan stated that errors such as overpayment were discovered during its internal financial review and promised to share the confirmed settlement amounts and payment schedules for each partner by the 28th.

However, as CEO Choi only offered expressions of responsibility without specific plans on this day as well, doubts about the company's ability to pay sellers are growing. Among sellers, there are even suspicions that Balan might be secretly preparing for court receivership, with claims of files related to corporate rehabilitation procedures being found on Balan's computers. Currently, all Balan employees are working remotely.

Sellers who have not received their payments are in distress. Through open chat rooms and other channels, sellers are sharing methods to minimize losses, such as requesting returns from buyers of recent sales before the payment gateway (PG) transfers the money to Balan, or processing re-payments through Naver Smart Store.

One seller said, "Having witnessed the large-scale unpayment crisis of TMEF last year and even Homeplus's sudden commencement of corporate rehabilitation procedures, we cannot help but feel anxious."

Balan experienced rapid growth starting in 2019 with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. At that time, it had high price competitiveness compared to offline stores, but it has faced difficulties due to decreased sales amid high interest rates and other factors. According to industry sources, Balan's average monthly transaction volume is around 30 billion KRW, with approximately 1,300 partner companies. The unpaid amount is estimated to be in the tens of billions of KRW.

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