IT Leadership

South Korea fines Google ₩42.9bn and Apple ₩20.81bn over app-store payment rules

2 min read

Typographic card reading 63.7 billion won in app-store payment fines, with Google at 42.9 billion won and Apple at 20.81 billion won, as South Korea's KMCC orders alternative payments and in-app external links.

South Korea's KMCC has fined Google and Apple a combined ₩63.7bn and ordered them to allow alternative payments, including external links inside apps, within three months.

In brief

Drafted with AI assistance and reviewed by the editor. Developing.

On 28 October, South Korea's Korea Media and Communications Commission (KMCC) approved fines of ₩42.9bn for Google and ₩20.81bn for Apple under the Telecommunications Business Act, according to Yonhap, as carried by the Korea Herald. The total is ₩63.7bn. At Reuters' reference rate that day of $1 = ₩1,326.09, that is about $48m. Yonhap gave a figure of $45m.

What the regulator found

The KMCC said both companies abused their dominant positions by forcing developers to use specific payment methods and by attaching unfavourable conditions to third-party payments, Yonhap reported. The commission will issue corrective orders but will not file criminal complaints.

What changes for developers

According to the Korea Herald and Yonhap reports, the orders require both companies to:

  • allow alternative payment methods, including external payment links within apps;
  • set fees for third-party payment systems at reasonable levels.

Google must revise its user-experience guidelines for third-party payments. Apple must drop its requirement that developers submit a separate app to offer alternative payments.

The timeline matters for planning. Each company has one month from receiving the orders to submit a compliance plan, and three months to make the changes. Developers selling in Korea should watch both stores' guideline updates, the fee levels they set for third-party payments, and how in-app links may be displayed. Developers should not change their payment flows until the stores publish the new rules.

The responses

Google expressed regret, saying the commission had not considered its recent changes to widen payment options and cut fees. Yonhap reported that Apple said it does not agree with the decision. "Apple believes that the changes it has implemented to date comply with the Telecommunications Business Act," the company said, adding: "We are reviewing our next steps based on Korean law."

Sources and scope

The KMCC statement and the AP report could not be retrieved directly. The developer guidance is ByteNib editorial analysis.

Drafted with AI assistance and reviewed by the editor before publication.

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