3 minBusiness
South Korea fines Google and Apple $47.6 million over app payment rules
South Korea's media and communications regulator fined Google and Apple a combined 63.7 billion won for forcing local developers onto their own in-app payment systems and for delaying app reviews.
South Korea has fined Alphabet’s Google and Apple a combined 63.7 billion won, about $47.6 million, after finding that the two companies abused their dominance in app store markets. The Korea Media and Communications Commission, the country’s media and telecommunications regulator, said the companies forced local developers onto their own payment systems and unfairly delayed app reviews.
The commission fined Google 42.9 billion won, about $32 million, and Apple 20.8 billion won, about $15.5 million. It also ordered both companies to allow South Korean developers to use external payment links within their apps and to improve their app review procedures. Google and Apple did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The regulator spent years investigating the U.S. technology giants over alleged violations of a 2021 law that prohibits app store operators from requiring developers to use specific payment systems. South Korea became the first country to enforce such a law, which bars app market operators such as Google and Apple from requiring users to use their own in-app payment systems. The commission’s findings show how that rule is being applied to the two largest app platforms in the market.
According to the commission, the companies technically allowed third-party payment systems inside apps but charged developers a 26% commission and withheld some features available through their own systems. The regulator concluded that this effectively forced developers to use only the in-app payment systems operated by Google and Apple, while barring payments through external websites. The commission said Google and Apple unfairly pushed developers toward their own payment systems in this way.
The commission also said it found cases in which the companies delayed app reviews without clearly explaining the reasons to developers or saying when reviews would resume. Those delays affect how quickly developers can release or update their products, and the regulator treated the lack of explanation as part of the abuse of dominance.
The commission further accused Apple of charging South Korean developers higher commissions than developers elsewhere from 2015 to January 2023. The allegation covers a period of roughly eight years, during which the regional pricing gap, according to the regulator, was a central part of its case against the company.
South Korea has for years closely scrutinized the business practices of foreign technology companies operating in its market. Wednesday’s penalties, and the order requiring external payment links, show how the 2021 law is now being applied in practice. For local developers who have paid platform commissions on in-app purchases, the change could alter the payment options available to them and the costs they face.
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