South Korea fines Google and Apple $47.6m over app payment rules

South Korea's Media and Communications Commission has fined Google and Apple a combined $47.6 million for violating the country's app payment rules, and ordered both companies to change their business practices.

The breakdown, as reported by Reuters: Google received a fine of KRW 42.9 billion ($32m), while Apple was hit with KRW 20.81bn ($15.6m). The regulator found both companies breached the Telecommunications Business Act, the 2021 law that made South Korea the first major market to require app store operators to open up in-app payments.

Both companies now face mandatory corrective measures, not just financial penalties. That's the operational story here.

What did the regulator actually find?

The commission's investigations and on-site inspections, running since 2022, produced three core findings:

• Both companies forced developers to rely on their own in-app payment systems (the proprietary purchase flow inside an app).
• Both charged a 26% commission when developers used third-party payment options — a rate critics argue makes the legally mandated alternative economically pointless.
• Both restricted external payment options, limiting developers' ability to steer users to outside checkout flows.

Two further findings target process, not just payments. The regulator said both companies delayed app reviews without clear explanations and failed to answer individual developer questions about those delays. Apple was separately found to calculate commissions differently for South Korean developers than for overseas ones — a discrimination claim unique to the Cupertino company in this case.

What must Google and Apple change?

The orders are concrete. Both companies must allow links to external payment options from within their apps, and both must revise their app review procedures to address the unexplained delays. Apple additionally must stop discriminating between domestic and overseas developers in how it calculates commissions.

For studios shipping in Korea, the practical effect is straightforward: if enforced, Korean users should be able to tap a link and pay outside the App Store and Google Play billing rails, with review processes that carry explanation and accountability.

The 26% commission question is the sharpest edge. The regulator's finding treats that fee as a violation in itself. If Apple and Google must cut it to comply, the economics of external payments in Korea change materially for developers.

How did Apple respond?

Apple said it disagreed with the decision and is reviewing its options under South Korean law. The company also said it had worked with developers to support innovation through its App Store. Google's response to the ruling was not detailed in the report.

The fines follow a familiar global pattern. Both companies have already introduced alternative payment options in the US and the European Union, under the EU's Digital Markets Act and US litigation and legislative pressure. But the rules governing those alternatives differ between markets — commission rates, allowed link-outs and disclosure requirements all vary. South Korea's ruling adds another divergent regime to that patchwork, one that multiplies compliance work for any studio operating globally.

Compliance in Korea now carries a legal deadline attached to regulator orders. Watch whether Apple and Google comply, appeal, or follow the EU route of introducing alternatives that keep commission economics largely intact — that choice will determine what Korean developers actually gain.