Increased Burden on Media Content Industry Due to Google's Mandatory In-App Payments
One Store Launches Win-Win Program... Applications Accepted from Early June
[Asia Economy Reporter Minyoung Cha] One Store is lowering the basic commission rate applied to media content applications (apps) to 10%. This is one-third of the 30% commission rate of global competitors and about 10 percentage points lower than One Store's own 20% commission rate. This is a countermeasure in response to the huge cost burden on domestic webtoon, music, and online video service (OTT) industries and consumer damage caused by Google’s enforcement of in-app payments (using the app market’s own payment system) starting April 1.
One Store announced on the 25th that it will implement the ‘One Store Media Content Ecosystem Win-Win Program’ to protect the domestic media content industry and consumers.
One Store will apply a basic commission of 10% to media content apps. This is one-third of the industry standard commission of 30% and half of One Store’s existing 20% commission. Additional discounts will be applied stepwise down to a minimum of 6%, depending on transaction volume and subscription ratio. This program targets media content platform apps that settle consumer payment amounts for more than 50 content providers. For media content apps that maintain existing consumer prices or set prices significantly lower than other app markets, a special agreement policy will be applied to grant the minimum commission rate of 6%, regardless of transaction volume or subscription ratio.
The purpose of this program is to reduce the commission burden on businesses to promote coexistence and to suppress consumer price increases, thereby preventing final user damage caused by cost burden transfer. Since the ‘Win-Win Agreement for Revitalizing the Domestic App Market’ in October last year, One Store has been continuously considering industry and consumer protection measures with the Ministry of Science and ICT and content providers.
Content providers can apply for the program through the One Store Developer Center starting early next month. After verification of the application information by the person in charge, the applicable rate will be applied from the approval date.
The Korea Communications Commission urged One Store, saying, "In a situation where app market commissions and content usage fee increases are increasing the burden on app developers and users, please make efforts so that One Store’s efforts can activate competition in the app market and enhance user welfare."
Lee Jaehwan, CEO of One Store, said, “One Store, as Korea’s representative app market and market regulator, has taken steps to protect the media content ecosystem and consumers. We hope this policy will strengthen the foundation of the domestic media content industry and support Korean companies in advancing onto the global stage.”
Meanwhile, One Store is implementing various policies under the corporate philosophy of ‘growth through coexistence with the industry.’ In July 2018, it lowered the app market commission rate, which was considered an unwritten rule of 30%, to 20%. It has been implementing a policy that fully allows developers’ own payment systems and lowers the commission to 5%. Since the second half of 2020, it has also been implementing a win-win policy for small and medium-sized enterprises, charging only half the commission for small developers. In recognition of these contributions, it received the Prime Minister’s Commendation for Information and Communications Development in 2020.
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