South Korea’s Korea Media and Communications Commission has fined Apple 20.81 billion won, approximately $15.5 million, for app-store practices that violated the country’s Telecommunications Business Act. The ruling is the first enforcement action under the law’s 2021 amendments, which prohibit app-market operators from forcing specific payment methods on developers and from unfairly delaying app reviews.
The fine is consequential, but the corrective orders attached to it are what will reshape Apple’s operations in South Korea.
What Apple Must Now Do
The KMCC’s orders reach into Apple’s billing rules, app-submission requirements, review procedures, and commission practices.
Apple is required to permit alternative payment methods and allow external payment links directly within apps. It must also remove or revise a requirement that developers submit entirely separate apps when offering those alternative billing options. The KMCC found that condition made third-party payment difficult in practice.
The regulator ordered Apple to revise the fees and conditions attached to third-party payment options. Even where Apple had nominally permitted alternatives, it imposed fees of up to 26%, which the KMCC said effectively made its proprietary billing system compulsory.
Apple must also fix its app-review procedures. The KMCC found that both Apple and Google failed to give developers specific reasons for review delays or clear timelines, and ordered both companies to address those shortcomings.
Finally, Apple must establish preventive measures to stop discriminatory commission practices from recurring.
The VAT Asymmetry
The regulator’s discrimination finding centers on how Apple calculated its commission differently for domestic and overseas developers over nearly eight years.
Between July 2015 and January 2023, Apple applied its standard 30% commission to prices excluding VAT when calculating fees for overseas developers. For South Korean developers, the same commission applied to consumer prices including VAT. That treatment resulted in a higher commission base for domestic developers relative to foreign counterparts selling through the same platform, according to the KMCC’s findings.
The Compliance Clock
Both companies face a firm timetable for submitting plans and completing the required changes.
Apple and Google each have one month from receipt of the corrective orders to submit compliance plans. Full implementation of the required changes must follow within three months. The KMCC said it would not file criminal complaints against either company in this case.
Google’s Parallel Penalty
Google faced its own set of fines and orders for violations the KMCC described as closely mirroring those found against Apple.
Google received a separate fine of 42.9 billion won, approximately $32 million, for similar violations. The combined penalties total roughly 63.7 billion won. The KMCC’s findings against Google cover forced use of proprietary payment systems, unfair conditions on third-party alternatives, and failure to provide clear reasons or timelines for app-review delays.
A Test Case for App-Store Regulation
South Korea’s action is the first under this specific law to reach formal enforcement, adding to a growing body of international regulatory challenges.
South Korea is not operating in isolation. Apple has faced related international regulatory pressure in markets including the European Union, Brazil, and Japan over aspects of its app-distribution and payment rules. South Korea’s enforcement is the first to proceed under its amended Telecommunications Business Act, adding another jurisdiction to the global scrutiny of App Store fees and payment access.
Apple said it disagreed with the KMCC’s decision and was evaluating its options under South Korean law. Whether its compliance plans satisfy the regulator’s interpretation of reasonable fees and genuinely open payment access will determine how much the ruling changes for developers and consumers.
