Proposal of “Payment to suppliers within 30 days” law… “Is it something to be regulated?”

Coupang Rocket Shipping/ [사진 쿠팡=연합뉴스]

Controversy is arising as the power of the people initiated the so-called’Coupang Act’, which mandated online shopping malls to pay product prices to suppliers and stores within 30 days. Han Moo-kyung, a member of the National Assembly’s Industry and Self-Defense Committee, announced on the 27th that it has proposed some amendments to the Large-scale Distribution Business Act and the Electronic Commerce Act. The main goal of the amendment is to impose a deadline for payment of 30 days in direct purchase by large-scale distributors or in mail-order brokerage transactions by mail-order brokers, and to impose a penalty for violating this.

One legislator said, “Because of some online shopping malls that boast of’rocket delivery’ and payments are settled two months later, small business owners are receiving loans because they cannot withstand the financial pressure.” He continued, “However, the current law is mail-order brokerage. “We have prepared a legal basis to solve this problem because we do not stipulate the payment deadline for transactions and online shopping malls.”

As a result of last year’s national audit by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, a lawmaker said that Gmarket, Auction, and 11th Street generally finished payment in one to two days, but some online shopping malls such as Coupang, WeMef, and Timon had as long as 60 days to complete settlement He pointed out that it turned out to be more than required.

The social commerce industry rebelled against this. An industry official said, “Efforts are already being made to reduce the settlement cycle.” “Comparing the open market and social commerce based on the number of payment days alone ignores the difference in the business model. It is not something to be regulated by legislation.” Another industry official said, “The settlement period under the Large Distribution Act is within 40 days from the end of the monthly sales deadline.” “The industry is already working on a win-win plan with partners by introducing a faster settlement method.”

Reporter Lee Byung-jun [email protected]