South Korea’s media regulator fined Apple 20.81 billion won (about $15.5 million) and Google 42.9 billion won (about $32 million) on 28 October, The Elec‘s kimsungjin reported. The Korea Media and Communications Commission also told both companies to allow external payment links, in the first enforcement action under the 2021 amendment to the Telecommunications Business Act that banned app market operators from forcing specific payment methods.
The regulator found the two companies left developers little real alternative to their own payment systems. It said third-party payment options carried a 26 per cent commission, external payment links were restricted, and some developers were required to build separate apps. Reviews were also delayed, the regulator concluded, without specific reasons or clear timetables.
Apple was separately penalised for applying its 30 per cent commission to prices including VAT for South Korean developers from July 2015 to January 2023, while overseas developers were charged on VAT-excluded prices.
Both companies must now allow external payment links in apps, revise third-party payment fees and app-review procedures, submit implementation plans within a month, and complete the changes within three months. Apple said it disagreed with the decision and is evaluating its options under South Korean law. It added that its policies comply with the law and its payment system helps protect users from fraud, according to 9to5Mac.