South Korea's media regulator has once again postponed a final decision on sanctions against Google and Apple over in-app payment practices that allegedly violated Korean law, nearly three years after the penalties were first proposed.

The Korea Media and Communications Commission announced Wednesday that it heard arguments from both companies during a plenary meeting but deferred its decision pending further deliberation. The prolonged timeline underscores the challenges regulators face in enforcing the world's first law mandating third-party payment access in app marketplaces, a framework that has since been echoed by comparable measures in the European Union's Digital Markets Act and through court-ordered remedies in the United States.

Commission Findings on Commission Rates

The regulator determined that Google and Apple effectively restricted developers to designated payment methods while charging up to 26 percent commission on third-party billing — a mere 4 percentage points below their standard 30 percent commission rate.

Google additionally restricted how alternative payment options could be presented to users and required them to select a payment method for each individual transaction. Apple, for its part, excluded third-party billing from certain fee discount programs. This meant that developers eligible for a reduced 15 percent rate under Apple's own billing system could still be subject to a 26 percent fee when opting for an alternative.

App Review Delays Identified

App review delays were flagged as a separate concern. The regulator identified more than 10,000 instances in which Google exceeded its stated review period, along with 1,658 cases where Apple took longer than 48 hours — frequently without clear explanations or expected timelines.

Disparate Treatment of Korean Developers

The commission also found that Apple applied different commission standards to Korean and overseas developers from July 2015 through January 2023. While overseas developers were charged based on prices excluding value-added tax, Korean developers were charged on prices that included VAT. This discrepancy resulted in an estimated 149.6 billion won ($105.7 million) in additional commissions.

The Digital Sovereignty Restoration Citizens Committee has characterized the practice as reverse discrimination, noting that commission rates were reduced to zero in the United States and to 17 percent in Europe, with external payments permitted following court rulings in those jurisdictions. Korean developers, by contrast, continued to face less favorable terms.

Legislative Background and Timeline

Korea amended the Telecommunications Business Act in 2021 to prohibit app market operators from forcing developers to use specific payment methods — the first legislative measure of its kind globally. The rules took effect in March 2022, and the regulator launched its investigation in August of that year.

In October 2023, the regulator proposed fines of up to 47.5 billion won for Google and 20.5 billion won for Apple. A final ruling has since been repeatedly delayed amid prolonged paralysis at the commission and a subsequent government reorganization.

Google's New Fee Structure

Google unveiled a new fee structure this week that would reduce app marketplace fees to a range of 10–25 percent, down from the current 15–30 percent. However, the commission stated that the policy does not currently apply to Korea and therefore cannot yet be regarded as a voluntary corrective measure.

The final penalties and corrective orders will be determined at a later plenary meeting, the commission said. The outcome is expected to shape how effectively regulators can compel meaningful changes to platform economics, not only in Korea but across jurisdictions that have adopted or are considering similar mandates.