Hardships Until the End... The Fate of the Google Gapjil Prevention Act

[Asia Economy Reporter Buaeri] The amendment to the Telecommunications Business Act, known as the Google Gapjil Prevention Act, is facing difficulties until the very end.

The ruling and opposition parties will hold a meeting of floor leaders from 10 a.m. on the 31st to renegotiate the agenda items for the National Assembly plenary session, including the Media Arbitration Act. Initially, the Google Gapjil Prevention Act was expected to pass in the plenary session the day before, but the session itself was canceled. Yoon Ho-jung, the floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, explained in a text message sent to lawmakers the previous day, "A meeting of floor leaders between the ruling and opposition parties and a plenary session are scheduled for the 31st."

The Google Gapjil Prevention Act prohibits app market operators from abusing their position to force mobile content providers to use specific payment methods.

Since its proposal in the National Assembly in July last year, the Google Gapjil Prevention Act has faced numerous trials over the past year. It encountered opposition from the People Power Party, and whenever the bill seemed likely to pass, Google announced policies such as commission fee reductions, causing further challenges. Later, conflicts arose between the Fair Trade Commission and the Korea Communications Commission over 'overlapping regulations,' leading to another crisis before the bill dramatically passed the Legislation and Judiciary Committee on the 25th. However, the plenary session has been postponed twice from the 25th to the 30th, and then again to the 31st, causing anxiety within the industry.

The industry views this plenary session as the last real opportunity. This is because Google will enforce its ‘in-app payment’ policy, which mandates the use of its own payment system, starting in October. Previously, Google announced it would delay the policy until April next year only for app developers who apply, but the prevailing view is that very few companies in Korea meet the conditions.

In particular, the industry emphasizes the importance of the timing of the Google Gapjil Prevention Act’s passage. If the bill does not pass this time, existing apps will be forced to incorporate the in-app payment system, and apps released after October will have to start under Google's dominance. If the bill passes after the policy is implemented, the system will have to be revised twice. An industry official said, "The law must pass before in-app payments are enforced to prevent market confusion."

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