National Assembly's Legislative Research Service Expounds Opinion That Google's Policy To Force In-App Payments Violates Prohibited Acts Under The Current Law.

The National Assembly's Legislative Research Service has expressed its opinion that Google's policy to force in-app payments violates prohibited acts under the current law.
The Legislative Research Service believes that 1. setting up a high fee for third-party payments in in-app payments, 2. banning external app payments, and 3. banning guidance on external web payments constitutes "an act of unfairly using transaction status to enforce specific payment methods."
According to data received by Cho Seung-rae, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea , at the National Assembly's legislative investigation office on the 21st, Google's in-app payment policy is a prohibition under Article 50 of the Telecommunications Business Act.
The National Assembly has passed the so-called Google "Gapjil" Prevention Act, which prohibits app market operators from forcing certain payment methods, for the first time in the world.
The Korea Communications Commission is investigating the facts, judging in August that app market companies such as Google and Apple may be in violation of the prohibition.
The Korea Communications Commission responded at a parliamentary audit on the 6th that Google and Apple are being considered for corrective orders and being imposed enforcement fines as they have not submitted important data.
Meanwhile, the Legislative Investigation Office pointed out that the KCC's enforcement ordinance has reduced the scope of prohibited acts than stipulated by law.
Representative Cho Seung -rae said, “There is a violation of the in-app payment policy of app market operators such as Google and Apple. As their in-app payment policy is recognized as a violation of the prohibition, the KCC will have to mobilize all the resources and investigate and make a decisive measure for the illegal acts confirmed. ”
He also suggested that we can refer to the legislative case of the European Union (EU), which stipulates that content is accessed and used without problems without using core platforms (app markets).

From the research done by the National Assembly's Legislative Research Service, it is clear that they believe Google's in-app payment policy is in violation of the law. The Korea Communications Commission is currently investigating the matter and has not yet come to a conclusion. However, it seems that the National Assembly is leaning towards taking action against Google.