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South Korean developers request change in 30% commission for Google Play Store

South Korean developers request change in 30% commission for Google Play Store

Google

After a long battle bwteeen Fortnite and Apple Inc, it is now Google Play Store which has been caught in a battle for commission rates with app developers.

South Korea has started a probe into the Google's plan of charging 30 per cent commission for the apps on the Google Play Store — similar to Apple.

While Google has been charging the same commission for some time, it has not been very strict about it, unlike PAple Inc. which was caught in a battle with the popular video game Fortnite.

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Google has now announced that the policy will be strictly initiated from next year, but will apply to less than three per cent of the developers. However, South Korean app developers have raised concerns about this and feel that the commission fee of 30 per cent is a little too high, especially in the pandemic.

Joh Sung-wook, chairperson of the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC), on Thursday said Google's plan was being investigated for possible "anti-competitive practises".

"Competition isn't working properly in the industry," she told lawmakers during a parliamentary audit.

"We are searching for anti-competitive practices in order to restore competition."

These comments have come after few South Korean companies knocked on the court's door to re-assess the permission granted to Google in this case and bring a change in this policy.

South Korea is an important marker for Google Play Store as the play store held a 63.4 per cent share of total app store sales in South Korea last year leaving behind Apple Store which only has 24.4 per cent.