[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] A draft enforcement decree of the "Telecommunications Business Act Amendment (Google Gapjil Prevention Act)" has been disclosed, stipulating that application (app) market operators such as Google and Apple will be fined up to 2% of their sales revenue if they force in-app payments.
On the morning of the 19th, the Korea Communications Commission (KCC) revealed the draft enforcement decree and notification during a meeting on the Google Gapjil Prevention Act with organizations related to app developers. Six organizations participated in the meeting, including the Korea Startup Forum, Korea Game Industry Association, Korea Digital Enterprise Association, Korea Mobile Game Association, Korea Mobile Industry Association, and Korea Internet Enterprise Association.
The draft allows imposing fines up to 2% of sales revenue on app market operators who force specific payment methods on app developers (Article 9). Additionally, for unfair delays in app review (Article 10) and unfair deletion of mobile content (Article 11), fines of up to 1% of sales revenue can be imposed.
The KCC explained that the fine for Article 9, "forcing a specific payment method," is set higher because the illegal act is relatively more serious.
The transactional position of app market operators subject to the law will be determined by comprehensively considering factors such as sales revenue, number of users, and the unique characteristics of the app market. The KCC cited examples such as sales revenue of 100 billion KRW or more based on commission and a daily average of 1 million or more users.
The KCC plans to prepare an enforcement decree detailing the specific types of prohibited acts. However, the review standards that provide criteria for determining illegality will be established as notifications, considering the significant market impact of the newly prohibited acts.
Alongside this, the KCC will also prepare detailed subordinate legislation in the form of enforcement decrees related to user protection and actual condition surveys. App market operators will be required to specify complaint handling, dispute resolution procedures, and methods of providing basic information in their terms of service. Furthermore, when app market operators receive user complaints during payment or refund processes, they must forward them to mobile content providers and are obligated to respond to users with the results.
On the same day, the KCC also demanded that app market operators such as Apple and Google submit specific implementation plans regarding the Google Gapjil Prevention Act. Kim Jae-cheol, Director of the User Policy Bureau at the KCC, stated, "The compliance implementation plans submitted by app market operators lack specificity or do not align with the legislative intent, so we plan to request resubmission of the materials. If no tangible content is confirmed in the resubmitted plans, we will initiate fact-finding investigations within the possible scope before the enactment of subordinate legislation and actively respond to illegal activities."
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