Fair Trade Commission in Sejong City, South Korea. 2023.10.13[Photo by Yoo Dae-gil]
South Korea's Fair Trade Commission (FTC) is investigating Google for allegedly abusing its dominant market position by requiring game companies to prioritize new game releases on its app market.
The FTC announced on July 1 that it has sent a report regarding the abuse of market dominance related to Google Play Store to Google LLC, Google Asia Pacific PTE LTD, and Google Korea. The review process will begin once the report, akin to a prosecution indictment, is delivered to the accused parties.
The FTC claims that Google demanded five domestic companies, including NCSoft and Netmarble, as well as 17 international firms like Riot Games and Activision Blizzard, to launch new games on the Play Store before other app markets. In return, these companies received support for platform service costs, including for Cloud and YouTube.
Notably, the contracts were structured to increase the support amount as revenue from the Google Play Store grew.
The FTC views Google's actions as obstructing business activities and engaging in exclusive conditional transactions that hinder competition with other app markets. The preferential treatment and corresponding service support reduce the incentive for game companies to enter other app markets.
However, the FTC determined that the game companies receiving support did not engage in collusion. An FTC official stated, "It is not easy to consider the receipt of economic support as a violation of fair trade laws, especially given Google's overwhelming position in the market, which likely made it difficult for game companies to refuse Google's demands."
Investigators concluded that Google violated market order from July 2019 to March 2026, estimating its related domestic revenue at approximately 14.16 trillion won.
Fines against the accused could reach several hundred billion won. An FTC official noted, "The actions of the accused are considered a 'very serious violation' of market dominance abuse, and given that fines can be imposed up to 6% of revenue, the related fines could amount to as much as 849.6 billion won."
The FTC announced on July 1 that it has sent a report regarding the abuse of market dominance related to Google Play Store to Google LLC, Google Asia Pacific PTE LTD, and Google Korea. The review process will begin once the report, akin to a prosecution indictment, is delivered to the accused parties.
The FTC claims that Google demanded five domestic companies, including NCSoft and Netmarble, as well as 17 international firms like Riot Games and Activision Blizzard, to launch new games on the Play Store before other app markets. In return, these companies received support for platform service costs, including for Cloud and YouTube.
Notably, the contracts were structured to increase the support amount as revenue from the Google Play Store grew.
The FTC views Google's actions as obstructing business activities and engaging in exclusive conditional transactions that hinder competition with other app markets. The preferential treatment and corresponding service support reduce the incentive for game companies to enter other app markets.
However, the FTC determined that the game companies receiving support did not engage in collusion. An FTC official stated, "It is not easy to consider the receipt of economic support as a violation of fair trade laws, especially given Google's overwhelming position in the market, which likely made it difficult for game companies to refuse Google's demands."
Investigators concluded that Google violated market order from July 2019 to March 2026, estimating its related domestic revenue at approximately 14.16 trillion won.
Fines against the accused could reach several hundred billion won. An FTC official noted, "The actions of the accused are considered a 'very serious violation' of market dominance abuse, and given that fines can be imposed up to 6% of revenue, the related fines could amount to as much as 849.6 billion won."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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