South Korea just hit Apple and Google with nearly $48 million in fines for running app store monopolies that squeeze developers and consumers — while American regulators sit on their hands.
The Korea Media and Communications Commission found both tech giants violated the country's Telecommunications Business Act by forcing developers into proprietary payment systems, slapping a 26 percent commission on anyone who tries to use an alternative, and stonewalling developers during app reviews. It's the first enforcement action under the 2021 amendment — and it exposes how far behind U.S. regulators remain when it comes to cracking open Silicon Valley's walled gardens.
Google was fined KRW 42.9 billion ($32 million); Apple must pay KRW 20.81 billion ($15.5 million). Both companies have been ordered to revise their policies.
The KMCC conducted fact-finding investigations and on-site inspections since 2022. What they found was straightforward monopoly abuse. Apple and Google "effectively forced" developers to use their in-app payment systems by imposing that 26 percent commission and additional restrictions on third-party alternatives. "This constitutes an act in which an app market operator unfairly uses its position in transactions to force mobile content providers and others to use a specific payment method," the KMCC said.
Both companies also delayed app reviews without giving specific reasons or responding to individual inquiries about timelines — the kind of bureaucratic black box that small developers know all too well.
Apple caught an additional charge: discriminatory commissions. Between July 2015 and January 2023, the company calculated its 30 percent cut differently depending on where a developer was based. Overseas developers were charged on prices excluding value-added tax. South Korean developers were charged on prices including VAT — meaning Apple quietly took a bigger cut from Korean creators for years. The KMCC called it unfairly providing "economic benefits... in a discriminatory manner compared to other users."
Apple told Reuters it "disagreed with the decision and was evaluating options in accordance with South Korean laws" and claimed it "has worked with outside developers to enable innovation through its App Store."
9to5Mac framed the story largely around Apple's mounting "App Store woes" and noted similar regulatory pressure in Brazil, Japan, and the EU. Engadget buried the discriminatory commission angle in its final paragraph and framed the penalties as routine regulatory process.
Neither outlet asked the obvious question: if South Korea, Brazil, Japan, and the EU are all forcing open these walled gardens, why aren't American regulators doing the same for American developers and consumers? The 2021 South Korean law was modeled on proposals that stalled in Washington. The bipartisan consensus in D.C. seems to be that Big Tech can self-regulate — a deal that serves the lobbying class, not the public.
South Korea just proved enforcement works. The open question is who in Washington is willing to do the same — and whose campaign contributions are keeping it from happening.
