FTC carried out investigation into abuses by Google Korea

Korea’s corporate watchdog carried out a weeks-long investigation into Google Korea over the firm’s alleged abuse of its leverage over local game developers, industry sources said Saturday.

According to the sources, the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) recently wrapped up a three-week on-site probe at the company’s headquarters in Seoul into allegations that Google has been pressing local game firms into launching their games exclusively on the Google Play platform.

This was the second time that the FTC looked into such allegations against Google. In April, the watchdog interviewed local mobile game developers regarding their business ties with Google.

The latest probe is “somewhat exceptional” given that the FTC generally spends around a week on such probes, the sources said, adding that the watchdog “could have found fresh allegations or pieces of new evidence.”

The watchdog refused to make official comments, but one of its officials said it “is analyzing what has been secured through the latest investigation.”

Yonhap