[Google vs Kakao] The Ball Moves to the KCC... Google and Kakao 'Tripartite Meeting'

Urgent Private Meeting with Executives Today
Challenges Begin with Post-Investigation Principle Inspection
Concerns Over Passive Attitude in National Assembly

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] Kakao, known as the ‘national chat application (app),’ has come into direct conflict with Google over the mandatory in-app payment policy (using the app market’s own payment system), prompting the Korea Communications Commission (KCC) to urgently summon executives from both companies for mediation. Amid sharp criticism from the National Assembly urging the KCC to take a more proactive stance, attention is focused on whether the KCC can shed the criticism of merely ‘conducting a fact-finding investigation’ and fulfill an active mediator role.

KCC Urgently Summons Kakao and Google

According to the KCC on the 7th, Kim Jae-cheol, Director of the User Policy Bureau, plans to hold an emergency meeting with executives from Kakao and Google. The meeting aims to inquire about Google’s ban on KakaoTalk app updates and mediate the conflict between the businesses. The meeting will be held privately at the request of the companies.

The KCC’s rush to convene the emergency meeting is interpreted as a measure taken considering the seriousness of the issue amid mounting criticism toward the responsible ministry. KCC Chairman Han Sang-hyuk told reporters the day before, “Our work involves taking post-action measures if something is defined as a prohibited act by law,” but added, “It is the administrative agency’s natural duty to make efforts to resolve user inconveniences that arise in the meantime.” The meeting with the businesses was promoted against this background.

Last year, Korea became the first in the world to enact the ‘In-App Payment Mandatory Ban Law (Amendment to the Telecommunications Business Act),’ but Google brazenly pushed forward with the mandatory in-app payment policy. While the KCC’s guideline is based on ‘post-investigation’ principles, user damage increased as the initial fact-finding inspection began. Due to the 30% in-app payment commission fee, service fees for mobile content such as online video services (OTT), music, webtoons, and web novels have risen one after another, culminating in the suspension of updates for the ‘national chat app’ KakaoTalk.

National Assembly: "KCC Must Take a More Active Role"

The KCC’s dilemma is growing. Due to the nature of the KCC’s work, resolving this issue requires proceeding through fact-finding inspection → confirmation of illegal acts → transition to formal investigation → committee deliberation and resolution. However, difficulties have arisen even at the first stage of fact-finding inspection.

The KCC also opened a reporting center for ‘voluntary reports,’ but only one case (from the Korea Publishers Association) was received in the first month after opening, leading to criticism that it lacks effectiveness. This is because companies are cautious about dispute risks in front of Google, which holds a 70% share of the domestic app market.

In the National Assembly, there are calls for the KCC to abandon its passive attitude of ‘only talking about post-investigation.’ Cho Seung-rae, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, said, “The KCC should clearly explain to the National Assembly and the public what situation is unfolding and how the fact-finding inspection is being conducted,” and raised concerns, “It is worrisome whether the KCC is neglecting big tech regulation under the pretext of fact-finding inspection.”

The KCC also declined to attend a forum held by members of the National Assembly’s Science, Technology, Information and Communications Committee, citing concerns over fairness as the fact-finding inspection is ongoing. The Democratic Party recently launched a ‘Big Tech Abuse Countermeasure Task Force (TF)’ under the party’s Livelihood Priority Practice Group, with Representative Han Jun-ho as team leader. The TF stated its purpose, saying, “Google is weakening the competitiveness of the domestic ICT ecosystem by forcing mandatory in-app payments and abusing commission fees through its monopolistic position in the app market,” and vowed to check the abusive behaviors of big tech companies.