People Power Party: "Google Should Lower Fees Like Apple"

[Asia Economy Reporter Seulgina Jo] "Google should reduce its commission fees to match Apple's 'half-price commission'."

Members of the People Power Party on the National Assembly's Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee urged Google (Google Play), which holds nearly 70% of the domestic app market share, to lower its commission fees. Previously, opposition lawmakers who had put a brake on the amendment to the 'Google Gapjil Prevention Act (Telecommunications Business Act)' citing concerns over hasty processing criticized Google's commission policy but argued that more time is needed to review the passage of related bills.

On the 19th, People Power Party lawmakers, including Whip Park Seong-jung, stated, "Apple's half-price commission policy is very timely," and "We urge Google to reduce commissions to 15% or less for small and medium developers to revitalize the app ecosystem." Earlier, Apple announced a drastic reduction of App Store commissions from 30% to 15% for small app developers with annual revenue under $1 million (approximately 1.1 billion KRW). It is estimated that the majority of the 1.8 million apps currently traded on the App Store have sales below $1 million.

People Power Party lawmakers emphasized, "Google, which holds the highest share in Korea's app market, should take extraordinary measures similar to Apple's reduction of commissions for companies with sales under 1.1 billion KRW to alleviate the concerns and burdens of small and medium app developers."

However, they still showed a negative stance toward the Google Gapjil Prevention Act, which is being promoted to block Google's forced in-app payments and commission expansion policies. They said, "No country worldwide has banned in-app payments," and "We seriously consider the internationally concerning trade issues and the potential harm to small and medium app developers aiming for global market entry, so we suggest taking more time for review."

They also stressed, "Since existing apps have a grace period until September 30 next year, there is still plenty of time for sufficient discussion," and "We must proceed with legislation carefully to prevent even a single innocent victim from arising due to rushed enforcement." They added, "We hope this will be a forum for thorough discussion."

Google plans to enforce mandatory in-app payments and take a 30% commission on all apps and content on Google Play starting January next year. Existing app developers have a grace period until the end of September, but the industry voices that this period is still insufficient for response. Accordingly, the ruling party on the Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee aims to pass the Google Gapjil Prevention Act by the plenary session on the 26th.

Originally, both ruling and opposition parties agreed on the Google Gapjil Prevention Act during the National Assembly audit about a month ago. However, recently, mainly opposition parties have shifted their stance, saying "more thorough review is necessary." The ruling party pointed out that despite more than six related bills being submitted, no discussions have taken place and proposed referring the matter to the Agenda Coordination Committee. According to the National Assembly Act, if there is a need to reconcile differences between ruling and opposition parties on an agenda, an Agenda Coordination Committee can be formed upon the request of one-third of the members, and deliberations can last up to 90 days.

Inside and outside the industry, there is speculation that the Google Gapjil Prevention Act may gain momentum again following Apple's commission reduction. Eight organizations, including the Korea Internet Corporations Association (KICA), held an emergency press conference at the National Assembly's Press Hall this afternoon, urging the withdrawal of Google and Apple's mandatory in-app payment policies and the passage of the Telecommunications Business Act amendment by the National Assembly. Besides KICA, participants included Korea Start Forum, Korea Creative Story Writers Association, Korea Web Novel Industry Association, Livelihood Economy Research Institute, Financial Justice Solidarity, Proper Communication Welfare Solidarity, and Citizen Safety Network.

The Korea Creative Story Writers Association criticized, "If Google forcibly takes 30% commission by abusing its global market dominance, the fruits of creators' blood and sweat will go entirely to Google, which has not contributed at all," and added, "We fear that Korea's digital content industry may become merely a money-making tool for global giant platforms like Google."

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