'One Month Since the "Google Gapjil Prevention Act"...KCC Urges Apple and Google to Comply with the Law'

KCC to Intensify Follow-up Measures After Law Enforcement on 14th
Fact-finding Investigation to Begin if Implementation Plan Not Confirmed

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] One month after the implementation of the so-called 'Google Abuse Prevention Act,' officially known as the 'In-App Payment Enforcement Prevention Act (Amendment to the Telecommunications Business Act),' the Korea Communications Commission (KCC) has requested Apple and Google to supplement their compliance plans.

On the 17th, the KCC announced that it will push forward follow-up measures to the amendment of the Telecommunications Business Act, which prohibits app market operators from forcing a specific payment method.

The amendment passed the National Assembly plenary session on September 14. Its main point is to ban the coercive practice of in-app payments (the app market operator's own payment method) imposed on developers registered on app markets such as Google and Apple. The high in-app payment fee policy, which approaches 30%, has also sparked backlash from app developers.

The KCC recently received implementation plans from app market operators such as Apple and Google to comply with the law but judged them not to align with the law's intent and plans to request resubmission. Along with the submitted plans, the KCC will assess whether there is coercion of specific payment methods on app developers and determine if there is any violation of current laws.

To organize subordinate legislation and begin fact-finding investigations, a meeting involving six associations related to app developers will be held on the 19th. Key app developers and creators from various fields, as stakeholders, will attend. The meeting will discuss the draft enforcement decree and public notice prepared by the KCC's system improvement team and listen to industry difficulties. The KCC will reflect these inputs and proceed with procedures such as legislative notice.

The KCC stated, "We will listen carefully to voices from the field for the healthy development of the app market ecosystem," and added, "If a visible compliance plan from app market operators is not confirmed, we will strongly respond to illegal activities, including initiating fact-finding investigations."