Apple's Korea Offices Raided by Antitrust Regulators Over Allegations It Charges Developers 33% Commission

Apple's South Korean headquarters have been raided by antitrust regulators after a complaint was raised by developers that it is charging them over the standard 30% App Store commission rate.

General App Store South Korea Feature Feature
The dawn raid by the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) was reported by local media on Monday and covered on Friday by the Foss Patents blog, highlighting the ongoing investigation in the country into Apple's alleged abuse of market power.

The complaint that sparked the raid was reportedly brought by mobile game developers who argued that Apple charges more than the typical 30% commission rate for purchases made in the ‌App Store‌.

As Foss Patents points out, Apple charges 30% of the price paid by end users, which includes value added tax (VAT), making it 10% higher than the amount on which Google bases its 30% commission, which doesn't include VAT. Apple is therefore collecting 33% (30% of 110%), not the headline 30% rate.

The above also comes into play for the 15% rate applied to small businesses or to subscriptions in the first year: Developers in Korea get charged 16.5% because Apple collects the commission on the gross price which is inclusive of VAT. The additional 3% reportedly amounted to approximately 345 billion won ($240 million) in the period from 2015 to 2020.

It's a similar story in other countries where Apple operates including France and Italy (32.1%), Turkey 35.25%, and the UK (31.5%) when tax is taken into account, although no-one has yet lodged a formal complaint about the practice in any of those countries.

The development means Apple is now being investigated by two Korean government agencies. In August, the Korea Communications Commission (KCC) said that it had 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. If the new probe discovers malpractice, the KCC could issue correction orders and impose fines up to as high as 2% of the average annual revenue from relevant business practices.

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.

However, Foss Patents argues that Apple is acting in bad faith by making it prohibitively expensive to use alternate payment services. Apple charges a 26% commission on payments processed by other service providers, meaning that developers using a third-party payment processor in Korea would have a total cost that is about twice as high as if they used Apple's in-app purchases.

Popular Stories

iOS 26 Feature

iOS 26.1 to iOS 26.4 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Wednesday October 1, 2025 1:26 pm PDT by
iOS 26 was released last month, but the software train never stops, and iOS 26.1 beta testing is already underway. So far, iOS 26.1 makes both Apple Intelligence and Live Translation on compatible AirPods available in additional languages, and it includes some other minor changes across Apple Music, Calendar, Photos, and Safari. More features and changes will follow in future versions,...
iPhone 17 vs Air and Pros Feature

New iPhones See 'Stronger Than Expected' Demand With One Exception

Thursday October 2, 2025 7:26 am PDT by
Nearly two weeks after the iPhone 17 series launched, analysts at investment banking firm Morgan Stanley said demand for the devices has been "modestly stronger than we originally expected," based on a combination of extended shipping estimates on Apple's online store and information it gathered from Apple's supply chain. There has been strong early demand for the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro,...
space black mbp

Here's Every New Apple Product That Leaked Yesterday

Wednesday October 1, 2025 8:27 am PDT by
A handful of upcoming Apple products leaked yesterday, through a combination of YouTube videos out of Russia and U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) documents that were released, despite Apple's confidentiality requests. The leaked products include an iPad Pro with an M5 chip, as well as updated MacBook Pro and Apple Vision Pro models. All of these devices had already been rumored...
Apple 2025 Thumb 1

Apple's 2025 Product Roadmap: What's Still Coming

Wednesday October 1, 2025 3:56 pm PDT by
Apple's two big yearly events, WWDC and the iPhone launch, are done and over with, but there are still some new products that we're expecting to see before the end of the year. Apple TV The Apple TV hasn't been updated since 2022, so it's due for a refresh. It doesn't look like Apple is going to change the design of its set-top box, but we can expect a faster chip Apple code suggests...
macbook air prime day 2025

M5 MacBook Air: Release Date, Features, and Performance Predictions

Friday October 3, 2025 3:39 am PDT by
The MacBook Air is Apple's most popular laptop – a thin, fanless machine that wields quiet power thanks to the efficiency of Apple silicon. While the M4 model isn't exactly old, attention is already turning to its successor. Apple doesn't telegraph new product launches ahead of time, but we can draw a surprisingly clear picture of what to expect by looking at Apple's silicon roadmap,...
Tim Cook Rainbow

Apple Event in October? Here's What to Expect

Monday September 29, 2025 9:31 am PDT by
Apple's annual iPhone event is in the rearview mirror, but rumors suggest the company plans to release a handful of additional products before the year ends. Will there be another Apple event this October? We discuss the possibility below. Apple in October Apple's most recent October events were in 2021 and 2023. In 2022 and 2024, Apple did not host an October event. Instead, it...
apple wallet drivers license feature iPhone 15 pro teal 1

Apple's iPhone Driver's License Feature Now Available in 11 U.S. States

Tuesday September 30, 2025 6:40 am PDT by
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, providing a convenient and contactless way to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps. Apple recently revealed that the feature would soon be available in North Dakota, and starting today, the feature has officially gone...
iPhone 17e Feature 1

iPhone 17e: All the Rumors So Far

Thursday October 2, 2025 4:55 am PDT by
Earlier this year, Apple released the $599 iPhone 16e – a budget-friendly late addition to its iPhone 16 series and a replacement for its long-running entry-level iPhone SE line. Given the iPhone 17 lineup has now launched, can we expect an iPhone 17e anytime soon? If you're holding out for a more affordable device with the 17 moniker attached, here's everything we know so far about the...
iOS 26 Everything New Feature

26 Hidden iOS 26 Tricks to Change How You Use Your iPhone

Wednesday October 1, 2025 9:16 am PDT by
Apple released iOS 26 in mid-September, bringing a range of new features and changes to iPhones across the globe. But not all of the included improvements have been showcased with Apple's typical fanfare, and many are likely to have been overlooked. Below, we've highlighted 26 lesser known additions and enhancements that could potentially change how you use your iPhone on a daily basis. Got...

Top Rated Comments

GadgetBen Avatar
39 months ago
Nothing to do with the fact that Samsung is a South Korean based company.
Score: 25 Votes (Like | Disagree)
NightFox Avatar
39 months ago
A dawn raid seems a bit of an unnecessary sabre-rattling gesture - this situation is something that would be readily and publically evident to the authorities, it's not something that Apple could have attempted to cover up (which is the normal reason for dawn raids)
Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)
imac_g4_1702 Avatar
39 months ago
South Korea has been progressing to become more law and fairness driven country. Yeah may be back in the 2000s there were a bit more corruptions.

But since the late 2010s a lot of anticorruption movement occurred.
Heck, Samsung's CEO was sent to jail and a President was impeached during this time.

I have more faith in South Korean Judicial system and this could be the Korean division of Apple not playing the game fairly.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Leon Ze Professional Avatar
39 months ago

Down with tech tax, open up the stores. Microsoft store shows how it can be done.
I think Microsoft can hardly be set up as a shiny example of a beacon of light with its history!
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
senttoschool Avatar
39 months ago
How much does the Samsung app store charge?
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Wildkraut Avatar
39 months ago

Microsoft Store is dead.
The Mac AppStore is dead, long live sideloading!
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)