Developers: "Google and Apple Reject My App... I Don't Even Know Why"

Korea Communications Commission Announces Results of App Market Survey
"Excessive Fees" Pointed Out as Major Issue in In-App Payments

"There is no contact information available even if I want to get in touch with the person responsible for reviewing the application (app)." "When inquiring about the app registration rejection criteria, the response is unclear, so we resolve issues by utilizing developer communities."

It has been investigated that domestic developers experience various unfair cases when launching apps on app markets operated by big tech companies such as Google and Apple. Additionally, 7 out of 10 app developers perceive the biggest problem with in-app payments as 'excessive fees.'

The Korea Communications Commission and the Korea Internet & Security Agency announced the results of the "2024 App Market Survey" on the 11th. The survey was conducted last year targeting 1,200 app developers and 3,000 general citizens, including four app market operators: Google Play, Apple App Store, Samsung Electronics Galaxy Store, and One Store.

The app markets most used by developers were Google Play (96.4%) and Apple App Store (71.3%) in that order (including overlaps). Next were One Store (13.3%) and Galaxy Store (5.8%).

The revenue share by app market was highest for Google Play at 67.5%, followed by App Store (28.2%), One Store (2.9%), and Galaxy Store (1.5%).

When asked about the biggest problem with in-app payments, 70.4% of app developers answered 'excessive fees,' which was the highest. This was followed by 'uncertainty in revenue settlement such as refunds (11.6%)' and 'restrictions on payment method selection (8.9%).'

The main unfair cases included app review delays (Apple App Store 36.8%, Google Play 26.2%) as the highest, followed by app registration rejection experiences (Apple 20%, Google 13%) and app deletion experiences (Google 8.2%, Apple 3.2%).

The review period required to register an app for the first time was mostly within 2 days (25.6%) for Google Play, whereas for Apple App Store it was within 6 to 7 days (42.5%).

Furthermore, the size of the domestic app market in 2023 was KRW 8.1952 trillion based on transaction volume, a 6.4% decrease compared to the previous year. The commission rate relative to transaction volume for the four app market operators was approximately 14~26%.

The total number of apps registered in domestic app markets increased by 0.1% year-on-year to 5,318,182 (including overlaps by app market), while the number of app developers decreased by 0.65% year-on-year to 1,636,655 (including overlaps by app market).

By category, apps related to Photo & Tools (26.1%), Lifestyle (15.6%), and Media & Publishing (14.5%) accounted for 56.2% of the total app registrations.

The proportion of users who prefer in-app payment methods was 74.5%, while 25.5% preferred website payments.

The most common reason for preferring in-app payments was 'payment convenience,' followed by 'convenient refund procedures.' The top reason for preferring website payments was 'because the price is cheaper.'

Detailed information about this survey can be found on the Korea Communications Commission website. Market Research Director Cheon Ji-hyun stated, "We will actively improve user inconveniences and strive to create a fair trading environment in the app market ecosystem."