"Evidence of Google's Antitrust Violations Overflows" Angry People Report to Fair Trade Commission (Comprehensive)

[Asia Economy Reporter Joeslgina, Sejong=Reporter Moon Chaeseok] "There is an abundance of evidence of Google's antitrust behavior."

On the afternoon of the 24th, domestic startups, fed up with Google's commission abuse, reported Google to the Korea Fair Trade Commission. They claim that Google's 'app market giant' policy of forcing its own payment system (in-app payment) and taking a whopping 30% commission in the process constitutes abuse of market dominance and unfair trade practices under the Fair Trade Act.

The joint legal team, including the collective litigation legal platform 'Hwanan Saramdeul' and lawyer Jeong Jong-chae of Jeongbak Law Firm, visited the Fair Trade Commission in Sejong City at 2:30 p.m. that day to submit a complaint on behalf of app operators harmed by Google's in-app payment policy.

Through the complaint, the joint legal team argued, "Google, which holds a de facto monopoly position in the Android app market, has transferred its market dominance from the mobile operating system and app market to the entirely separate service market of in-app payment," calling it "tying sales." They added, "It deprives content providers of the choice of in-app payment services and forces a 30% commission," expressing concern that "most of the commission is passed on to consumers, restricting competition in the mobile content market and causing anticompetitive effects."

Lawyer Jeong Jong-chae told reporters at the Sejong Government Complex that day regarding the applicability of the Fair Trade Act, "We have secured a lot of overseas materials, including the U.S. House of Representatives' competition report," expressing confidence that "there is an abundance of evidence of Google's antitrust behavior." The publicly released U.S. competition report clearly states that "Google is a complex monopoly that continues to strengthen and expand its monopoly position in many services such as search systems, mobile OS, Android system, app market, YouTube, and others, and especially engages in anticompetitive restrictive acts through pre-installation related to the app market."

Regarding concerns about extraterritorial application raised by some, Lawyer Jeong responded, "It is legally possible, of course. Our Fair Trade Act also has provisions for this." He added, "Google has declared that it will comply with Korea's Fair Trade Act as part of its compliance policy," and "extraterritorial application is not an issue." The joint legal team has been preparing the lawsuit since July, when Google began pushing for mandatory in-app payments and a 30% commission.

In particular, to prompt a swift decision and corrective order from the Fair Trade Commission, the joint legal team limited the complaint target to Google for now. This was influenced by Apple's recent decision to reduce app commissions for small and medium developers. Lawyer Jeong said, "It's not that we excluded the complaint against Apple, but postponed it," adding, "Apple's commission reduction is very, very insufficient and inadequate. However, we highly evaluate the self-regulatory behavior of the monopolistic business and decided to observe it." He explained that they will monitor Apple's future actions and take additional measures accordingly.

Regarding Google's announcement the day before to postpone the enforcement of 'mandatory in-app payments and 30% commission' in the Korean market until September next year, amid recent widespread criticism in Korea, they dismissed it as "meaningless." This is because it is merely a postponement, not a withdrawal or reduction of the commission policy. Criticism from inside and outside the industry continues, calling Google's decision a "trick" to block the passage of the anti-abuse law in the political sphere.

Lawyer Jeong pointed out, "I think the possibility of Google completely changing its policy at this stage is zero," explaining, "Because the benefits as a global platform monopolistic business are too great." He emphasized, "It is necessary for government agencies, consumers, and businesses worldwide, not just in Korea, to pressure them," adding, "This is just the beginning." Google's app market, Google Play, holds a 70% share of the domestic app market.

They believe that Google may eventually propose a settlement including a reduction in commission rates as it becomes unable to withstand global criticism. However, even if the Fair Trade Commission proceeds with a consent decree, their policy is to "continue monitoring the situation and take measures once involved." A consent decree refers to the Fair Trade Commission recognizing a voluntary corrective plan proposed by a business as appropriate and closing the case without determining whether a law violation occurred.

The number of startups participating in this complaint has not been disclosed. This decision was made to protect the identities of complainants who fear retaliation from Google. In fact, it is known that many startup officials ultimately did not participate in the complaint due to concerns about Google's retaliation. Choi Rorong, CEO of Hwanan Saramdeul, conveyed the atmosphere, saying, "They say they absolutely cannot report or visit Google."