Google Accused of Abusing App Store Dominance; South Korean Antitrust Authority Plans Fines

SEOUL (CNA) - South Korea's antitrust authority announced today that Google has abused its dominant position in the Android app store, hindering fair market competition, and will recommend corrective measures and impose fines.

Reuters reported that the Market Surveillance Bureau of the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) stated at a press conference announcing the investigation report that Google is suspected of abusing its dominant position in the Android app market, affecting related revenue of 14.16 trillion Korean won (approximately $9.1 billion).

The report indicated that from July 2019 to March 2026, Google launched a program called Game/Google Velocity, providing financial support to domestic and international game developers in exchange for their use of Google services such as cloud, advertising, and YouTube. The condition was that developers must release games on Google Play at least on par with, or even more favorably than, other competing app stores. The company internally referred to this as "Project Hug."

The contract structure was also designed such that as developers generated more revenue through Google Play, the financial support provided by Google would increase, creating a stronger incentive for developers to prioritize releasing their games on the Google app store.

According to the report, this program significantly reduced developers' willingness to release games on competing app stores such as South Korea's OneStore, hindered the business activities of rivals, and created a de facto exclusive trading relationship between developers and Google.

In a statement to Reuters, Google said, "Google Play has always competed fairly with other app stores and has brought many benefits to developers and consumers in South Korea."

Google added, "We have always cooperated actively with the Fair Trade Commission's investigation, and we will continue to demonstrate to the commissioners that the company has not violated any laws."

If the Korea Fair Trade Commission ultimately determines that Google has abused its market dominance, it could impose a fine equivalent to 6% of the affected revenue of $9.1 billion.

Google has 8 weeks to submit a written response and review the evidence after receiving the investigation report.

The Market Surveillance Bureau stated that once Google's due process rights are fully guaranteed, the bureau plans to convene a full commission meeting and make a final decision as soon as possible. (Compiled by Liu Shu-chin) 1150701

Stand with facts, your every sponsorship is a force to protect press freedom

Download the CNA "One News" APP to get the latest news in real-time

Text, images, and videos on this website may not be reproduced, publicly broadcast, publicly transmitted, or used without authorization.