Apple's listing of Epic Games' game "Fortnite" on the App Store, amid ongoing legal battles, has led to speculation about whether the relaxation of in-app payment restrictions will also apply to the domestic market. In South Korea, there are calls from civic groups and the political sector to curb Apple's "excessive" in-app payment practices.
Tim Sweeney, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Epic Games, posted on his social media on the 21st (local time) that "Fortnite is back on the App Store." This marks five years since Fortnite was removed from the App Store for violating Apple's in-app payment policy by implementing its own payment system. In-app payments refer to limiting purchases of paid content to be processed solely through Google or Apple's payment systems. Apple is known to take up to 30% in fees from app developers.
The lawsuit between Apple and Epic Games has been evaluated as having caused cracks in Apple's monopolistic in-app payment system. A U.S. court ordered Apple last month not to impose fees on external payments. After the litigation results, Apple faced criticism for delaying the review of Fortnite's App Store listing, but the controversy appears to be settling with Fortnite's return to the App Store.
Attention is focused on whether Apple's actions will impact domestic game companies. Following the U.S. court ruling, instances of guiding users to utilize their own payment systems via links, etc., have been appearing in the local app market. Spotify recently announced that it would disclose audiobook prices within the app while informing about the approval of Apple's update. It also noted that users can purchase additional listening time beyond the provided 15 hours. Amazon has also added a "Get Book" button to the Kindle app, allowing users to transition to its website to purchase books directly.
There are claims in South Korea that Apple should relax in-app payment regulations. Civic groups like the Economic Justice Action Coalition (경실련), the Korea Mobile Game Association, the Korea Game User Association, and the Korea Game Consumer Association stated that "as a result of this ruling, Apple's in-app payment fees in the United States could not exceed a minimum of 13% to a maximum of 25%, and the intermediation fees for third-party payments could not surpass a minimum of 10% to a maximum of 22%."
Lee Cheol-woo, a lawyer and president of the Korea Game User Association, said in a phone call with ChosunBiz on this day, "As Apple has only lost in its home country's lawsuits, there is a large possibility that it will relax in-app payment restrictions specifically for U.S. operators," adding, "There is not much that has changed in our country yet."
The political sphere is also putting pressure on Apple. People Power Party member Choi Soo-jin, who is part of the National Assembly's Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting Committee, introduced a revision bill on the 13th to prohibit app market operators such as Google, Apple, and Netflix from mandating in-app payments and discriminating against external payments.
The revision bill includes provisions for imposing punitive damages of up to three times the damage amount on mobile content providers within the app market who impose unfair contract terms or delay content reviews.
Choi's office explained the reason for the bill's introduction, stating, "App market operators have strengthened their monopoly by requiring their own payment means when facilitating mobile content transactions within their app market or mobile content, while imposing high transaction fees," and added, "Small and medium content providers have been unable to file for damage claims due to fears of retaliation. With the introduction of punitive damages, we aim to effectively control the excessive practices arising from platform monopolies."