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SEOUL, March 28 (AJP) - Balaan, a South Korean luxury goods platform, is facing mounting scrutiny over its financial stability after reports emerged of delayed payments to sellers and increasing concerns over the company’s liquidity.
Tensions flared on Thursday when a group of sellers gathered at Balaan’s headquarters in Gangnam, Seoul, demanding overdue payments.
The protest follows a series of unsettling developments that have led some industry analysts to draw parallels to the collapse of other e-commerce platforms, including the high-profile Timef incident in 2024.
Balaan first acknowledged payment delays on Monday, citing the need to “verify past transactions and settlement details during the financial verification process.” Balaan added that it would proceed with payments after completing internal audits.
However, concerns have intensified in recent days after Balaan implemented a sudden company-wide shift to remote work on March 26, a move it attributed to unspecified “internal repairs.” Multiple reports suggest that Chief Executive Choi Hyung-rok and other senior executives have since been unreachable.
“The signs are troubling,” said one industry analyst, speaking on the condition of anonymity. “The opacity, the sudden remote work, the silence from leadership — it echoes the early stages of the Timef collapse.”
In that case, Timef initially blamed “system errors” for delays in merchant payments. The issue escalated into a full-blown liquidity crisis, culminating in widespread non-payments and the company’s effective shutdown.
Like Timef, Balaan has yet to report a profit since its founding in 2015. In 2023, the company posted an operating loss of approximately 10 billion won, or about $7.5 million.
The distribution sector is watching Balaan’s situation closely, wary of further instability in a market that has already seen several high-profile collapses. For now, questions remain about whether Balaan can stabilize its operations — and whether it is willing or able to provide clarity on its financial condition.
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