Apple's App Store Practices Again to Be Investigated in South Korea, Despite Change to Allow Third-Party Payment Systems

Apple is to again be investigated by South Korea's telecommunications regulator, alongside Google and One Store, over suspected violations of in-app payment rules.

General App Store South Korea Feature Feature
In a statement (via Reuters), the Korea Communications Commissions (KCC) said that it conducted an inspection of Apple, Google, and One Store since May 17 to determine if they have violated in-app payment laws, and concluded that all three companies may have done so. Such contraventions could include unfairly delaying the review of mobile content, or refusing, delaying, restricting, deleting, or blocking the registration, renewal, or inspection of mobile content that uses third-party payment methods.

If the new probe discovers malpractice, the KCC may issue correction orders and impose fines up to as high as two percent of the average annual revenue from relevant business practices, but there is as yet little detail on the specific violations of the law the regulator suspects may have occurred.

In January, Apple announced that it would comply with a new South Korean law that bans app store operators from requiring developers to use their own in-app purchase systems. In late June, the change came into effect, enabling developers to offer alternative payment systems in South Korea.

It is unclear exactly why Apple is under investigation, given that it now allows developers to offer third-party payment systems on the South Korean App Store. One explanation could be that the KCC deems Apple to have taken too long to comply with the change in the law, since it came into effect in March, but Apple only began informing developers that they could use third-party payment systems in late June.

Popular Stories

iOS 18

Here Are Apple's Full iOS 18.5 Release Notes

Tuesday May 6, 2025 2:17 pm PDT by
Apple today seeded the release candidate version of iOS 18.5 to developers and public beta testers, giving us a look at the final version of the update that will be provided to the public next week. With the release candidate, Apple provided release notes, so we have a more complete look at the new features that are included in the update, including those that weren't found during the beta...
siri glow

iPhone Users Now Able to Submit Claims in $95 Million Siri Spying Lawsuit

Wednesday May 7, 2025 11:40 am PDT by
If you owned a Siri-compatible device and had an accidental Siri activation between September 17, 2014 and December 31, 2024, you could be eligible for a payment from Apple as part of a class action lawsuit settlement. Apple in January agreed to pay $95 million to settle a class action lawsuit involving Siri spying accusations, and a website to distribute the funds has now been set up and...
iOS 18

Apple Says iOS 18.5 Coming Soon, Here is What's New

Monday May 5, 2025 8:19 am PDT by
In its press release for the new Pride Band today, Apple said that iOS 18.5 is "upcoming," following more than a month of beta testing. We expect the iOS 18.5 Release Candidate to be released this week, and this should be the final beta version, barring any last-minute bugs or changes. The software update should then be released to the general public next week. iOS 18.5 is a relatively...
iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17: What's New With the Cameras

Friday May 2, 2025 3:52 pm PDT by
We've still got months to go before the new iPhone 17 models come out, but a combination of dummy models and leaks have given us some insight into what we can expect in terms of camera changes. Apple is adding new camera features, and changing the design of the camera bump for some models. You might be skeptical of dummy models, but over the years, they've proven to be a highly accurate...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature Homescreen

Foldable iPhone Said to Have Two Key Advantages

Monday May 5, 2025 6:41 am PDT by
Apple plans to release its first foldable iPhone next year, according to several reporters and analysts who cover the company. In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the foldable iPhone will offer two key advantages over other foldable smartphones. First, he said the foldable iPhone will have a "nearly invisible" crease when unfolded. This means the device's...
AirPods Pro 3 Mock Feature

AirPods Pro 3 Just Months Away – Here's What We Know

Tuesday April 29, 2025 1:30 am PDT by
Despite being more than two years old, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 still dominate the premium wireless‑earbud space, thanks to a potent mix of top‑tier audio, class‑leading noise cancellation, and Apple's habit of delivering major new features through software updates. With AirPods Pro 3 widely expected to arrive in 2025, prospective buyers now face a familiar dilemma: snap up the proven...
Nineth iOS 19 Feature

iOS 19 Beta is a Month Away With These New Features for Your iPhone

Thursday May 8, 2025 7:37 am PDT by
The first iOS 19 beta is just one month away, and there are already many new features and changes that are expected with it. Apple should seed the first iOS 19 beta to developers immediately following the WWDC 2025 keynote, which is scheduled for Monday, June 9. Following beta testing, the update should be released to the general public in September. Below, we recap the key iOS 19 rumors...

Top Rated Comments

Kabeyun Avatar
36 months ago
It’s almost as if competing phones were made there… /i
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
IamTimCook Avatar
36 months ago
Apple will never win there, ever. There is only a puppet government in South Korea. The big three families rule that country, and the Samsung family is one of those three.

Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cocky jeremy Avatar
36 months ago
"Samsung can't beat you on their own, so lets see if we can help."-South Korea
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Agit21 Avatar
36 months ago

Apple will never win there, ever. There is only a puppet government in South Korea. The big three families rule that country, and the Samsung family is one of those three.


Just like in the US, Germany, Japan, China, Russia, Brazil....... the list goes on.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Unggoy Murderer Avatar
36 months ago

Apple will never win there, ever. There is only a puppet government in South Korea. The big three families rule that country, and the Samsung family is one of those three.


No idea why you're being downvoted, you're absolutely right. The chaebols don't mess around.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
George Bailey Avatar
36 months ago

Maybe other countries will also investigate their half speed SSD in the M2 base model, while most people would assume that it would be the same SSD as the higher storage models. Something like this is sketchy, if not outright fraud.
Half speed?
Also if Apple doesn't lie about how fast it is, how is a slightly slower drive fraud?
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)