Korea fines Google and Apple $47.6 million over in-app payments

Korea’s media regulator imposed a combined 63.71 billion won ($47.6 million) fine on Google and Apple for forcing developers to use their in-app payment systems.

Korea’s media regulator fined Google and Apple a combined 63.71 billion won ($47.6 million) for forcing app developers to use their own in-app payment systems, three years after the companies were first notified of the proposed sanctions.

The Korea Media and Communications Commission (KMCC) fined Google 42.9 billion won and Apple 20.81 billion won during a plenary meeting at the government complex in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi, on Wednesday.

The KMCC found that the two companies had abused their superior bargaining position to force developers to process those payments through the tech giants’ own systems and had unfairly delayed app reviews.

Google restricted how developers could display prices for each payment method, and Apple required developers that adopted third-party payment systems to upload a separate app. Those conditions made outside payment difficult, the commission found. Neither company gave specific reasons or timelines when app reviews were delayed.

Apple was also sanctioned for discriminating between developers by charging only Korean developers commissions calculated on prices that included value-added tax.

The commission ordered both companies to stop the prohibited practices, improve their procedures and publicly announce the corrective orders. The companies must submit plans for carrying out the measures within a month of receiving the orders, complete the improvements within three months and report back on the results. The KMCC decided not to file criminal complaints against either company.

The sanctions are the first enforcement of provisions added to the Telecommunications Business Act in 2021, which bar app market operators from forcing specific payment methods on developers and from unfairly delaying app reviews. The Korea Communications Commission (KCC), which the KMCC replaced in October 2025, began inspecting and investigating the two companies in 2022.

“The KCC notified [the companies of] the corrective measures in October 2023, and more than three years have passed since then,” Kim Jong-cheol, chair of the KMCC, said after the vote. “Whatever the reason, I cannot help but express, as chair and on behalf of the commission, a heavy sense of responsibility for an administrative body losing so much time to an administrative vacuum.”

The case stalled as the KCC went through long stretches with only two of its five commissioners in place.

“It is late, but I hope this will be an opportunity to correct the unfair practices of app market operators, protect the rights of app developers and users and build a fair and transparent app market ecosystem,” Kim said.

Google and Apple say they have complied with Korean law.

“We regret that the decision does not fully reflect Google’s efforts to comply with the law or its contribution to supporting the innovation and global growth of Korean developers,” a Google representative said. “We will carefully review the written decision once we receive it and decide how to respond.”

Apple said it disagrees with the decision and is reviewing how to respond under Korean law.

Updated, Oct. 28, 2026: Added details about the reason for the penalties and statements from the two companies.

BY CHO MUN-GYU, SEO JI-WON [[email protected]]