If You Cancel YouTube Premium Early, You Will Get a Refund for the Remaining Fees

KCC Receives Corrective Action Implementation Plan from Google LLC
Effective from August 25... First Among 30 Countries Worldwide

YouTube webpage screen capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heung-soon] Starting from the end of August, if users wish to cancel their YouTube Premium service, the cancellation will be processed immediately upon request, and fees will be refunded proportionally for the remaining subscription period.

The Korea Communications Commission (KCC) announced on the 25th that it received a corrective action implementation plan from Google LLC regarding violations of the Telecommunications Business Act, including this matter.

According to the plan scheduled to be applied from August 25, Google will immediately process cancellations upon user request during the monthly subscription period of the YouTube Premium service and refund fees proportionally for the remaining subscription period. Previously, even if users requested cancellation, the service was maintained until the end of the paid monthly period, and no refunds were issued.

Google also decided to clearly notify users of the separate value-added tax charges on the service subscription and account confirmation screens. The subscription screen will indicate the end date of the free trial (start date of payment), and users will be notified by email three days before the paid conversion. After payment, it will also explain that withdrawal from the contract is not possible due to non-use of the service.

According to the KCC, Korea is the first among approximately 30 countries worldwide where the YouTube Premium service is offered to apply a system that calculates fees proportionally based on the usage period.

The KCC evaluated, "This improvement in business processing procedures is significant as it confirms that the principles and intent of domestic laws protecting users have been applied equally to global operators as to domestic operators, and that subscription services must guarantee users the right to cancel mid-term depending on the type of service."

On January 22, the KCC judged that automatically converting users to paid subscriptions without their consent after the free trial of YouTube Premium service was a violation of the law, imposing a fine of 867 million KRW and corrective measures on Google. It was determined that restricting users' cancellation rights and failing to inform important matters at the time of contract formation caused widespread consumer harm.

Google recently announced the fact of the corrective order through print advertisements in daily newspapers and on the first screens of the YouTube webpage and mobile app. Chairman Han Sang-hyuk of the KCC stated, "Considering the amendment of the Telecommunications Business Act that imposes service stabilization obligations on global content providers and requires the introduction of domestic agents to protect users, we will continue to strictly respond to violations by global operators without discrimination compared to domestic operators."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.