Republic of Korea: Closed inquiry into app market operators for violations of the Telecommunications Business Act

On 9 August 2022, the Korean Communications Commission (KCC) closed its inquiry into Google, Apple and One Store regarding their compliance with Telecommunications Business Act. The KCC opened its inquiry on 17 May 2022 after receiving a report from the Korean Publishing Culture Association, which indicated that the revised payment policies of the app store providers were unduly enforcing a certain payment method. In particular, the KCC stated that the app store providers offer only their payment option and are imposing conditions that make it difficult for application developers to use a third-party payment option. Furthermore, the KCC noted that it will launch an investigation to determine if the app store providers’ practices represent a violation of the Telecommunications Business Act which prohibits app stores from forcing developers to use certain in-app payment methods.