South Korea to Launch Investigation Into App Store Over In-App Payment Violations

South Korea's telecommunications regulator has announced that it will launch an investigation into app store operators, including Apple, Google, and One Store, for violations of the country's in-app payment law, reports Reuters.

The Korea Communications Commissions (KCC) said in a statement it had conducted an inspection since May 17 to determine whether Google, Apple and One Store had violated the rules and had determined that all three might have done so.

The country's regulations bar market operators from unfairly delaying the review of mobile content, or refusing, delaying, restricting, deleting, or blocking the registration, renewal, or inspection of mobile content that uses third-party payment methods. Potential fines can reach as a high of 2% of average annual revenue from related business activities. The law was passed last year and went into effect this March.


In a statement, a Google spokesperson said: “We have worked closely with government stakeholders and our developer community to expand user choice in Korea in compliance with the new law, while continuing to ensure we can invest in the ecosystem and provide a safe and high quality experience for all. As we have at each stage of this process, we’ll continue to cooperate with the KCC."

Apple and One Store have yet to issue a comment on the investigation.

Read More