Source: Yonhap

What happened

According to Yonhap, South Korea’s Korea Media Communications Commission (KMCC) on Aug. 12 concluded that U.S.-based Google LLC and Apple Inc. violated related laws by abusing their dominance in their respective app marketplaces. The finding came at a regular KMCC meeting held that afternoon. The level of sanctions will be decided at a later date — this brief is a liability and compliance signal, not a fine number yet.

The breakdown

The two companies are accused of bypassing the 2021 revision to Korea’s telecommunications business act, which aims to stop large app-market operators from forcing developers to use only the platforms’ proprietary in-app payment systems. After that revision, Google and Apple allowed purchases through third-party payment gateways but imposed a transaction fee of around 26 percent on non–in-app purchases — a structure that drew criticism for effectively nullifying the law’s intent.

Yonhap also notes the enforcement lag: in October 2023, Korea’s media watchdog had warned it would impose the highest fine possible on the two firms, but had not yet carried out such a punishment as of this Aug. 12 finding. So today’s step is a violation conclusion, not the end of the sanctions calendar.

Why it matters outside Korea

This is operational for anyone who ships apps, sells digital goods, or bills subscriptions into Korea through the Play Store or App Store — overseas publishers, Korea-facing SaaS, and teams that buy or resell digital products for Korean users. The overseas implication is not “Korea hates Big Tech” as a slogan. It is that Korea’s anti-steering / alternative-payment rule has a live enforcement track, and the disputed ~26% fee on third-party gateway paths is now part of a formal abuse finding, with sanctions still pending.

Treat this as a platform-rules briefing, not investment advice. Stock moves, App Store revenue folklore, and portfolio chatter are outside the wire facts here; the behavior update is compliance and commercial planning for Korea distribution.

What publishers and Korea-facing teams should watch

• Do separate liability from penalty: Aug. 12 is a violation conclusion; fine size and remedy design remain TBD — re-check counsel and store notices when KMCC publishes the sanction package.
• Do model Korea digital checkout with the ~26% third-party-path fee as the contested commercial reality the watchdog just tied to an abuse finding, not as a settled “law already fixed pricing.”
• Don’t assume the 2021 telecom revision alone equals cheap alternative payments in Korea; Yonhap’s account is that the fee structure was criticized as gutting that reform.
• Expect a longer clock: the Oct. 2023 max-fine warning without punishment yet is a reminder that Korea can move from warning to finding without shipping the fine on the same day — budget legal and product time for follow-on orders.

Context

Read this as enforcement catching up to a payment-steering workaround, not as “Korea just banned Google and Apple payments.” Korelay frame: the 2021 revision opened the door to third-party gateways; the live dispute is whether a ~26% fee on those paths nullifies the law in practice. Today’s KMCC step answers the violation question; it does not yet answer how hard the sanction will land.

If you publish into Korea, sell in-app content, or run Korea-facing SaaS billing through the major stores, update your watchlist to sanctions calendar + fee-path redesign, not to a finished fine story.

Source

Yonhap: Media watchdog says Google, Apple violated laws regarding in-app purchases — paraphrased for briefing; read the original for full detail. Platform/markets briefing only — not investment advice.