[2020 National Audit] Cho Sung-wook, Chairman of the Fair Trade Commission, "Google Damages Market Competition"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Bu Aeri] Cho Sung-wook, Chairman of the Fair Trade Commission, announced on the 22nd that "there are parts where Google is damaging competition" and revealed plans for an investigation.

Chairman Cho made this remark during the National Assembly's Political Affairs Committee audit when Min Hyung-bae, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, pointed out that "Google is destroying the ecosystem by forcing mandatory in-app payments."

Google announced that starting from October next year, all payments made when using apps distributed through Google Play must use its own system (in-app payments), and a 30% commission will be deducted. This policy, which had previously applied to game apps, has been extended to content areas such as music, video, and webtoons.

Chairman Cho said, "The main reason Google was able to introduce such a policy is because there is a lack of competition in the app market," and added, "The Fair Trade Commission will investigate this matter."

The Fair Trade Commission is currently conducting two ex officio investigations: one into Google's act of requiring mobile phone manufacturers to pre-install its apps, and another into its demand that domestic game companies release their game apps exclusively on Google. One of these cases is planned to be submitted to the plenary session (equivalent to a court trial) within this year.