South Korea Fines Google and Apple 63.71 Billion Won, Orders Changes to App Payments

A payment choice that regulators found was too costly to use

South Korea's Korea Media and Communications Commission fined Google 42.9 billion won and Apple 20.81 billion won on October 28, 2026, finding that their app payment rules left developers with little practical choice but to use the companies' own billing systems. The combined penalty of 63.71 billion won is about $47.6 million.

The commission ordered both companies to allow external payment links inside apps, change conditions attached to alternative billing and improve app review procedures. Developers using other payment providers had still faced commissions of 26%, alongside additional processing costs and restrictions on how those alternatives worked.

The decision is the first enforcement of provisions added to South Korea's Telecommunications Business Act in 2021 to prohibit forced payment methods and unfair delays in app reviews. It follows an investigation that began in 2022 and proposed sanctions announced in October 2023.

Google and Apple dispute the decision and say their practices comply with Korean law. Both are reviewing their responses. The regulator will not file criminal complaints, but the companies must submit compliance plans within one month of receiving the corrective orders and complete the required improvements within three months.

For developers and customers, the practical change concerns what happens at checkout: whether another payment option is easy to find, whether it costs less to provide, and whether customers can use it without unnecessary steps.

Why a 26% fee left developers little room

Google and Apple collect commissions of up to 30% when customers buy game items and other digital products through their payment systems. Developers describe the charge as a toll on access to customers. One small game company paid the two platforms about 14 billion won in fees, illustrating how large those costs can become.

The commission found that allowing another payment provider in principle had not created a workable alternative. Developers still faced a platform commission of 26%, then had to cover the separate provider's processing charges and their own operating costs. Some functions available with the platforms' billing systems were withheld from alternatives.

At the rates examined in the case, a purchase of 10,000 won would carry a platform commission of 3,000 won at 30%, compared with 2,600 won at 26%. The difference is only 400 won before the developer pays the outside payment provider. That narrow gap helps explain why developers might stay with the platform's billing even when another option is formally permitted.

Customers could also face extra card registration and identity verification when using alternative billing. Each additional step makes checkout more cumbersome. The regulator's finding therefore addressed the combined effect of fees, missing functions and payment procedures, rather than the mere presence of an alternative payment button.

Google and Apple imposed different restrictions

Google restricted how developers could display prices for different payment methods, according to the commission. Price information matters because customers need to see the cost of each option before deciding how to pay. The corrective measures require Google to revise its guidelines governing the experience of using outside payment providers.

Apple required developers offering alternative billing to submit a separate app. That added another submission and review process for developers seeking to give customers a different way to pay. The commission ordered Apple to remove that requirement.

Both companies also restricted payments through external websites. The orders require them to let developers include links inside their apps that take customers to outside payment options, and to set reasonable fees for alternative billing.

The commission classified the forced payment practices as a very serious violation, citing harm to competition, developers and consumers. It increased the penalties for those practices by 20% because the companies had failed to correct their conduct despite knowing they were under investigation.

Apple's tax calculation brought another penalty

Apple faced a separate finding over how it calculated commissions for Korean developers between July 2015 and January 2023. The commission said Apple applied its 30% rate to prices that included value-added tax, while calculating commissions for developers elsewhere on prices before that tax.

Value-added tax, or VAT, is a tax included in the price of many purchases. Applying a commission to a price that includes tax produces a larger charge than applying the same percentage to the price before tax. Korean developers therefore faced a higher effective commission even though the stated rate was the same.

The commission estimated that this practice generated 149.6 billion won in additional commissions for Apple. That amount is more than seven times Apple's total fine of 20.81 billion won in this case, although the fine covers several findings and is separate from the estimate of additional commissions.

Apple attributed the difference to changes in Korean VAT law. The regulator rejected that explanation, saying the company could have used consistent calculation methods across markets. Apple later revised its policy voluntarily, and the commission reduced the penalty for discriminatory commissions by 20% in recognition of that change.

App review delays were part of the case

Google and Apple were also penalized for unfairly delaying app reviews without adequately explaining the reasons or giving developers clear completion timelines. The commission found that developers sometimes remained without those answers even after requesting them.

App review is the approval process a developer must pass before an app or update can appear in a store. When a review stalls, a developer may have to postpone a release or wait to deliver changes to customers. A clear explanation and timetable help the business decide what to fix and when it can proceed.

The corrective orders require both platforms to improve their review procedures as well as their payment policies. South Korea's amended Telecommunications Business Act addresses unreasonable review delays and app removals alongside the prohibition on forcing particular payment methods.

The decision treats access to the store and access to payment options as connected parts of a developer's business. A company needs approval to reach customers, then needs workable terms for collecting payment once those customers arrive.

How the case took years to reach a decision

South Korea introduced the relevant legal provisions in 2021, but the enforcement process stretched across investigations, proposed penalties and a change in the regulator itself. The final combined fine of 63.71 billion won is 4.29 billion won below the 68 billion won proposed in October 2023.

The main stages were:

• 2021: South Korea added provisions to the Telecommunications Business Act banning forced payment methods and unfair app review delays.
• 2022: The Korea Communications Commission began inspecting and investigating Google and Apple.
• October 2023: The regulator notified the companies of proposed corrective measures and fines totaling 68 billion won.
• October 2025: The Korea Media and Communications Commission replaced the Korea Communications Commission.
• October 28, 2026: The new commission approved fines totaling 63.71 billion won and ordered changes to payment and review practices.

The predecessor commission went through long periods with only two of its five commissioners in place. Administrative disruption and the organizational transition contributed to repeated postponements of a final decision.

KMCC Chair Kim Jong-cheol accepted responsibility for the delay and described the outcome he wanted developers and customers to experience:

"I hope these measures will mark a turning point, bringing meaningful changes to the market that app developers and end users can actually feel," Kim said.

The delay meant that the law's first sanctions arrived about five years after its introduction. The next stage puts the focus on changes to the companies' operating rules within a much shorter period.

What Google and Apple say

Google expressed regret over the ruling, arguing that the commission had not fully accounted for its compliance efforts or recent changes designed to expand payment options and reduce developer fees. A company representative said:

We will carefully review the written decision once we receive it and decide how to respond.

Google announced revised payment policies in March, including purchases through external websites and lower developer fees. The commission plans to examine those changes. Kim met Google executives in Gwacheon on April 1 and asked the company to bring forward its planned December rollout in Korea, citing the burden on local developers.

Apple also disagreed with the ruling. The company pointed to its work with outside developers and said more than 90% of revenue generated through its App Store ecosystem had gone to developers in the previous year.

Apple set out its legal position in a company statement:

Apple believes that the changes it has implemented to date comply with the Telecommunications Business Act," the company said. "We are reviewing our next steps based on Korean law.

Neither company had announced a final response to the penalties. Their reviews of the written decision will determine their next legal steps, while the regulator proceeds with its corrective orders.

The deadlines start when the orders arrive

The KMCC expects to issue written decisions in November. Each company must then submit an implementation plan within one month of receiving its order, complete the required improvements within three months of receipt, and report the results. The companies must also publicly disclose the corrective orders.

Receipt of the orders is the starting point for those deadlines. The commission has not provided a single calendar date by which all changes must be completed. It plans to monitor compliance, including the treatment of external payment links, alternative billing fees and app reviews.

The corrective measures reach beyond adding another checkout route. Google must change its payment experience guidelines, Apple must end its separate app requirement, and both must address the costs and conditions that made outside billing difficult to use.

For customers, the potential benefit is a more direct choice between payment options within the apps they already use. For developers, it is the ability to offer that choice without another app submission or a fee structure that absorbs most of the possible saving. The orders do not set out a universal new commission rate or promise a particular reduction in retail prices.

Why the changes matter more than the fine alone

Google and Apple together control 95.7% of the app marketplace. That concentration gives developers limited room to avoid the platforms when seeking customers, which makes the details of their payment and approval rules especially consequential.

The 30% and 26% commission figures show the central commercial problem. A developer considering another provider must compare the four percentage point reduction in the platform charge with the cost of processing payments independently. Easier links and fewer registration steps can improve the experience, while lower fees determine how much room there is to save money.

The commission has ordered changes on both fronts: the price of using alternative billing and the process of offering it. Its review of compliance will show whether those changes give developers a usable choice after years of proceedings.

The decision also places app review procedures under scrutiny. Developers need to know why approval is delayed and when a review can proceed, just as they need predictable payment rules. Together, those requirements address the practical terms on which businesses reach customers through the two stores.

Key Points

• The KMCC fined Google 42.9 billion won and Apple 20.81 billion won, a combined 63.71 billion won.
• The regulator found forced payment practices, restrictive conditions on alternative billing and unfair app review delays.
• Alternative billing carried a 26% platform commission, with separate processing costs and restrictions.
• Apple also faced a penalty over commissions calculated on prices including VAT for Korean developers.
• The companies must allow external payment links, revise their practices and improve app review procedures.
• Compliance plans are due within one month of receiving the orders, with improvements required within three months.
• Google and Apple dispute the decision and are reviewing their responses. The regulator will not file criminal complaints.