Google’s Play Store Antitrust Case Heads to South Korea’s Top Court

Alphabet’s Google is facing a new round of legal scrutiny in South Korea after a dispute over its Play Store business practices reached the country’s Supreme Court, following a lower court ruling that eliminated a 42.1 billion won ($31.8 million) antitrust penalty while leaving intact a finding of anticompetitive conduct.

The case centers on allegations that Google used its influence in the Android app distribution market to discourage mobile game developers from releasing titles through One Store, a competing South Korean marketplace, according to a report published Monday by MLex.

The latest development extends a legal battle in which Google secured a significant financial victory without overturning the underlying conclusion that its business practices violated competition law.

In September, the Seoul High Court ruled that the Korea Fair Trade Commission had established that Google improperly used incentives to encourage game developers to prioritize its Play Store over competing distribution channels, MLex reported.

However, the three-judge panel rejected the regulator’s method for calculating the financial penalty, finding that the revenue used to determine the fine had been defined too broadly. The court consequently canceled the entire monetary sanction.

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The ruling left Google in an unusual legal position: free of the financial penalty but still subject to an adverse finding concerning its competitive behavior.

Read more: Google Play Antitrust Lawyers Denied $85 Million Fee Request by US Judge

The dispute originated in a 2023 enforcement action by South Korea’s competition regulator, which accused Google of offering game developers preferential promotional placement and other commercial benefits in exchange for limiting distribution through rival app marketplaces.

According to Reuters reporting at the time, the conduct occurred between June 2016 and April 2018 and affected the competitive position of One Store, a domestic alternative to Google Play.

The regulator argued that Google’s arrangements reduced the ability of competing app stores to attract popular games, weakening their appeal to consumers and developers.

The case carries broader implications for South Korea’s efforts to regulate the market power of major technology platforms, particularly companies that control access to mobile applications and digital services.

Google is also confronting a separate competition proceeding in the country involving agreements with game developers under a program known internally as Project Hug.

Source: MLex

Google’s Play Store Antitrust Case Heads to South Korea’s Top Court | PYMNTS.com