Amber Neely
Apple must now allow alternative payment systems in South Korea to maintain compliance with a new law that forbids tech companies like Google and Apple from forcing their own in-app payment systems.
In September, South Korea passed a law that would forbid app store operators, such as Apple and Google, from requiring developers to utilize first-party payment systems for in-app purchases.
Additionally, the amendment places prohibitions on app store rules that dissuade developers from marketing their wares on other platforms.
For the first time, Apple will now allow alternative payment systems in South Korea to comply with the new law. The company will provide an alternative payment system at a reduced service charge as part of the compliance plans turned into to the Korea Communications Commission (KCC).
The plans did not provide a date as to when the policy would take effect, nor did it disclose what the reduced service charge would be.
"We look forward to working with the KCC and our developer community on a solution that benefits our Korean users," Apple said in a statement as seen by The Korea Harold.
"Apple has a great deal of respect for Korea's laws and a strong history of collaboration with the country's talented app developers. Our work will always be guided by keeping the App Store a safe and trusted place for our users to download the apps they love," it added.
In recent years, Apple and Google have come under fire for their in-app payment systems. As a result, both have been heavily criticized for taking up to a 30 percent cut of sales and in-app purchases.
In November, a class-action lawsuit claimed Apple leveraged its popular iOS platform to create a closed ecosystem that locked customers into a software aftermarket saddled by App Store commissions, fees which continue to drive "supracompetetive" profits.
Facebook recently rolled out a new tool designed to help content creators earn money on its platform while sidestepping Apple's customary 30 percent cut of App Store transactions.
William Gallagher
Christine McKee
AppleInsider Staff
Chip Loder
Malcolm Owen
23 Comments
This is extortion of an American company.
Would love for the U.S. to ban knockoff iPhones/knockoff iPads from South Korea and their wannabe App Stores. Of course it would never happen because Americans have this strange self-hatred fetish.
Isn’t Samsung has their own App Store? But I am sure this law won’t apply to them, given how corrupt Korean government is.
Apple's 30% and 15% commission rates have always included more services than just payment processing, so why is payment processing the only part of the services that is treated as if it needs an alternative? That's what makes these rule changes sound like it's mainly banks/financial companies lobbying the South Korean government for a piece of the App Store action.
We’ll see what Apple does to get around this. Surely the South Korean government and developers cannot think Apple should maintain the App Store gratis for all comers.