Regulators are also requiring them to change their business practices.
Both Apple and Google have violated Korea’s Telecommunications Business Act, the country’s communications regulator has determined. The companies have received penalties from the regulator and have been ordered to change their business practices related to their app stores. Google was slapped with a KRW 42.9 billion ($32 million) fine, while Apple has to pay KRW 20.81 billion ($15.6 million) in penalties.
According to the Korea Media and Communications Commission (KMCC), it has conducted fact-finding investigations and on-site inspections on the companies since 2022. The agency found that the two of them violated the country’s rules for the app market sector, including forcing people to use their in-app payment methods, imposing a commission of 26 percent for third-party payments and prohibiting external payments.
It also said that the company delayed app reviews without providing a clear reason for it and didn’t responding to individual inquiries about the delays. Finally, the regulator found that Apple computed its commissions differently for South Korean and overseas developers. For Korean developers, it based its cut on the price of purchases including VAT, while it based its cut on pre-VAT prices for developers from outside the country.
As a result of those findings, the KMCC is requiring the companies to accept external payments and to revise their app review procedures. Apple is also required to prevent “discrimination between domestic and overseas app developers.” The companies already allow external payments in the US and in the European Union.
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