S.Korea fines Google $32M for blocking games on rival app store

South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) announced on Tuesday that it has fined Google 42.1 billion ($31.88 million) for preventing mobile games from being released on a rival app store.

The KFTC said in a statement that the tech giant required Korean developers to launch their titles exclusively on the Play Store for in-app exposure and further support for international expansion in return, between June 2016 and April 2018. By doing so, Google boosted its market dominance while hurting the revenue and value of its rival One Store, as well as gaming companies like NCSoft, Netmarble, and Nexon, it said.

The regulator added that the measure is aimed at safeguarding fair competition within the country’s mobile app market.

Meanwhile, a Google spokesperson said: “We have cooperated diligently with the KFTC’s investigation and deliberation process for the past five years and believe that there has been no violation of the law. Google makes substantial investments in the success of developers, and we respectfully disagree with the KFTC’s conclusions. We will carefully review the final written decision once it’s shared with us to evaluate the next course of action.”

In September 2021, the KFTC imposed a fine of 207 billion won ($177 million) on Google for abusing its market power and preventing competition. Last year, the Android-maker was also fined 69.2 billion won ($50 million) by the country’s Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) for violating the privacy law.