[비즈한국] The brand value of 'Wemakeprice,' once a leader in the domestic social commerce market, has plummeted to the 5 million won range during its liquidation process. It has been confirmed that Wemakeprice's trademarks and domain, which were declared bankrupt in November of last year, were sold for 5.67 million won after eight failed auctions. This amount is less than 1% of the initial minimum bid price of 1 billion won.
Sold for 5.678 Million Won, Less Than 1% of the Initial Bid Price
Recently, the Wemakeprice bankruptcy trustee issued a sale notice for the company's intellectual property and tangible assets. The items for sale include 518 trademarks related to the 'Wemakeprice' brand, 17 domains, and all machinery and equipment. The trademark list includes not only 'Wemakeprice' but also a large number of service and marketing brands that Wemakeprice formerly operated or promoted, such as 'Wemakeprice+', 'Wemakeprice Pay', 'Wemakeprice Wonder Delivery', and 'Wemakeprice Super Coupon'. Major domains that represented the brand, such as 'wmp.co.kr' and 'wemakeprice.com', were also put up for sale.
The auction for Wemakeprice's intellectual property, including trademarks and domains, began in April with an initial minimum bid price of 1 billion won. However, as no bidders appeared, the auction failed repeatedly, and the minimum bid price was lowered in stages. Ultimately, after eight failed attempts, one person participated in the 9th auction, and the assets were sold for 5.678 million won.
Although the final price exceeded the 9th minimum bid of 5 million won, it is less than 1% compared to the original starting bid. This means that the brand value of 'Wemakeprice,' once considered a representative player in the domestic e-commerce market, has fallen to the level of a few million won during the liquidation process.
Following the sale of intellectual property, Wemakeprice's tangible assets will also undergo a separate auction process. According to the 'Notice of Sale of Assets, Machinery, and Fixtures' issued by the Wemakeprice bankruptcy trustee, the items for sale include data equipment with an acquisition cost of 1.4 billion won. In addition, remaining fixtures such as Dyson air purifiers and office furniture have also been added to the sales list.
The initial minimum bid for the tangible assets was also set at 1 billion won. The auction begins on the 8th, and if it fails repeatedly, the minimum price will drop to as low as 1 million won—a structure where the price can drop by 99.9% from the initial bid. While it is common to lower the price each time an auction fails, the extent of the drop in this case is particularly large.
This is interpreted as being because the focus of this auction is to quickly clear out the assets remaining after bankruptcy. The notice of sale for tangible assets specifically states that the asset sale is for the purpose of vacating the leased building where the assets are located. The purchase conditions also require the successful bidder to not only acquire the assets but also take responsibility for removing all remaining stored waste from the site.
Wemakeprice's Trademarks Sold for 'Peanuts': Can TMON Succeed in a Comeback?
Launched in 2010, Wemakeprice was considered one of the companies that led the growth of the domestic social commerce market alongside TMON and Coupang. However, as the market reorganized rapidly, Wemakeprice's position gradually narrowed. While Coupang succeeded in differentiation by leveraging its 'Rocket Delivery' and logistics infrastructure, Wemakeprice remained stuck in discount-driven competition and suffered from deteriorating profitability.
In 2023, Qoo10 acquired TMON and then Wemakeprice, incorporating them into the Qoo10 Group. However, the Qoo10 Group's aggressive acquisition process led to financial difficulties, which triggered the 'T-Mep' (TMON-Wemakeprice) crisis, where payment settlements to sellers were halted. Wemakeprice applied for corporate rehabilitation to the Seoul Bankruptcy Court on July 29, 2024, but failed to find a buyer. After the court finalized the decision to terminate the rehabilitation process, it was declared bankrupt on November 10, 2025.
Currently, criminal trials are underway for executives including Qoo10 CEO Ku Young-bae, former Wemakeprice CEO Ryu Hwa-hyun, and former TMON CEO Ryu Kwang-jin regarding the T-Mep crisis. In December 2024, the prosecution indicted 10 related individuals, including Ku, Ryu Kwang-jin, and Ryu Hwa-hyun, without detention on charges of fraud, embezzlement, and breach of trust under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment, etc. of Specific Economic Crimes. The prosecution determined that the executives misappropriated approximately 1.85 trillion won, including TMON and Wemakeprice seller settlement funds, and siphoned off company funds under the guise of loans or consulting fees.
Subsequently, while investigating additional complaints from victims, the prosecution added charges of fraud involving 844 million won. At the first trial for the additional fraud charges held on April 21, 2026, the defendants denied the charges. Separately, Ku and others are also on trial for failing to pay a total of 26.3 billion won in employee wages and severance pay.
Meanwhile, unlike Wemakeprice, TMON was able to avoid bankruptcy by being acquired by Oasis. However, it will take time for operations to normalize. Although Oasis pushed for a platform relaunch after the termination of TMON's rehabilitation process, the service has not resumed due to delays in final procedures such as payment network integration. Recently, to shed the negative perception of TMON, they changed the corporate name to names like 'Ago' and 'May Oasis,' but an actual resumption date for operations has not yet been confirmed.
An official from Oasis stated, "As we acquired the TMON corporation, we changed the name in the process of considering new initiatives," adding, "A schedule for resuming the TMON site has not been set yet. Issues like payment systems still remain."