Google Demanding "Disclose Fair Trade Commission Review Materials," Court 'Dismisses'

"Claim for 'Expansion of Evidence Inspection and Eligible Inspectors' Rejected for All Google Requests... Fair Trade Commission Favored"

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwangho Lee] Google, which was investigated by the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) for its 'Play Store exclusive release' policy, filed a lawsuit demanding the disclosure of review materials but lost the case.

The Seoul High Court Administrative Division 6-1 (Presiding Judges Choi Bong-hee, Wi Kwang-ha, Hong Seong-wook) ruled on the 19th that Google lost the lawsuit against the FTC, in which Google sought to cancel the refusal to allow inspection and copying of documents.

Earlier, in January last year, the FTC completed its investigation into Google's alleged coercion of domestic game companies such as Nexon, NCSoft, and Netmarble to release their apps exclusively on its app market, the Play Store, and sent the review report. The FTC judged that by excluding competing app markets, domestic companies had to bear higher fees when releasing apps.

In response, Google filed a lawsuit requesting access to the materials used as evidence in the FTC's review. Google also demanded that five of its lawyers be allowed to enter the FTC's data room, a document inspection room. However, the court dismissed all of Google's requests.

The FTC has introduced the data room since 2020, allowing limited access to materials related to trade secrets when necessary. In this case, only one external lawyer from Google's side was permitted access. Ultimately, the court ruled in favor of the FTC.

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