[Edaily Marketin JI YEONG-EUI Reporter] AsWeMake, which has been embroiled in allegations of financial statement manipulation and fraud during its efforts to secure an additional 50 billion won in investment, has shut down its core service, “QMarket,” and embarked on a large-scale restructuring. The company will downsize its workforce by approximately 60% to a 37-person team and shift its focus from the cash-intensive order brokerage business to a monthly subscription-based business-to-business (B2B) software-as-a-service (SaaS) business.

As We Make maintains that the shutdown of Q-Market does not signify the dissolution of the corporation or a complete cessation of operations. Having settled all outstanding payments to business partners and transitioned to a new leadership structure under CEO Ryu Ji-won, the company plans to pursue independent survival by focusing on its remaining businesses. However, with existing investors currently conducting external accounting audits and pursuing legal action, it remains to be seen whether this business restructuring will actually lead to a return to normal operations.

Major Restructuring from 92 to 37 Employees… Focus Shifts to B2B SaaS Instead of QMarket

According to investment banking (IB) industry sources and As We Make on the 14th, the company completed a restructuring on the 3rd, reducing its total workforce from 92 to 37—a cut of 55 employees. This amounts to a reduction of approximately 60% of the existing workforce. On the 12th, the company changed its registered CEO to Ryu Ji-won, marking the transition to a new management structure.

It also shut down QMarket, which had been its core service. QMarket was a platform that centrally received consumer orders and connected them to partner supermarkets. Instead of maintaining the central order-brokering structure—which incurred high variable costs and cash burn—the company reorganized its business around individual apps for each supermarket, its own online store, the delivery agency and driver app “Hat Delivery,” and the marketing messaging service “AllTalk.” The company explained that it began actual operations under the new business model on the 5th.

Cost-cutting measures are also underway. As We Make plans to freeze overhead expenses for the next 18 months, reducing the ratio of fixed costs to revenue from 10.8% to 4.9%. The company also announced a goal to minimize separate marketing expenses by leveraging its existing network of approximately 1,300 stores and to secure more than 150 new paid contracts each month. It decided to suspend expansion of low-margin businesses—such as the delivery network and certain distribution operations—until their profitability is confirmed, and to scale back or wind them down if they fail to meet targets for two consecutive quarters.

The company announced that it had paid all amounts subject to settlement—including transaction proceeds and promotional expenses related to the termination of Q-Market—on the 12th, two days ahead of the originally scheduled date of the 14th.

CEO Ryu stated, “We have merely discontinued the Q-Market service; this does not mean we are shutting down the As We Make corporation or ceasing all business operations,” adding, “We will prove our ability to operate normally through actual service performance and new contract results.”

Allegations of Financial Manipulation Amid Attempt to Secure 50 Billion Won in Investment… Investors Continue Due Diligence

The background behind As We Make’s decision to undertake a rigorous restructuring lies in recent allegations regarding its financial and management data. Promoting the digital transformation of grocery stores, the company raised a total of 26 billion won across Series A through C—5 billion won in Series A in 2022, 11 billion won in Series B in 2024, and 10 billion won in Series C last year. It subsequently sought to raise an additional 50 billion won.

The problem arose during the financial due diligence process conducted by new investors. While verifying some of the business partners listed by the company, the partners reportedly responded that no actual transactions had taken place, and circumstances suggesting discrepancies between sales data and actual business relationships were reportedly identified. It was also confirmed that the bank statements provided to investors did not match the actual account balances.

Accounting-related documents also came under scrutiny. When the investors had an accounting firm verify the facts, suspicions arose that some documents differed from the originals issued by the firm. The investment industry is examining the possibility that certain figures or details listed in the originals may have been altered during the process of being conveyed to the investors. Existing investors have suspended the additional investment process and are conducting an external accounting audit to verify actual revenue, profit and loss, and the use of existing investment funds. Some investors have taken legal action, including filing criminal complaints against former CEO Son Soo-young and others on charges of fraud. The company denies the allegations of embezzlement.

As We Make plans to regularly disclose its actual performance against future projections to restore trust among investors and the market. The key issue will be whether the business restructuring—which involved a 60% workforce reduction and the discontinuation of core services—will go beyond mere cost-cutting to generate actual cash flow and secure new contracts. This is because the company must prove the sustainability of its business model with a team of just 37 employees while external verification of its financial data is underway.

An investment banking industry official stated, “Whether As We Make can effectively resolve existing suspicions through an external accounting audit, and whether the company can actually generate new contracts and cash flow, will determine whether it can return to normal operations in the future.”