Korean game industry sues Google in U.S. for $7.4B over in-app billing rules

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Korean game industry sues Google in U.S. for $7.4B over in-app billing rules

Published: 06 Jun. 2025, 11:58 Updated: 06 Jun. 2025, 18:25

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

A sign is displayed on a Google building at their campus in Mountain View, California, United States, on Sept. 24, 2019. [AP/YONHAP]

A Korean game publisher and two industry associations have filed a class action lawsuit against Google in a U.S. federal court, accusing the tech giant of monopolistic practices and excessive in-app payment fees. This marks the first time a Korean game company has directly sued Google over the issue.

The game distributor, along with the Korean Publishers Association and the Korea Electronic Publishing Association, filed the lawsuit on Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

The plaintiffs claim Google’s policy of mandating its in-app payment system on Android — and charging commissions of up to 30 percent — violates U.S. antitrust laws and Korea’s Fair Trade Act.

This follows a similar lawsuit the same group filed against Apple last month, reflecting growing frustration in Korea’s content industry with the dominance of global app market operators.

The plaintiffs are seeking triple damages under U.S. law for losses incurred between 2021 and 2024. They are also claiming damages under Korean law for alleged losses dating back to 2015.

The damages could total as much as 10 trillion won ($7.4 billion) based on the estimated 8.3 trillion won annual domestic spending on mobile game apps, according to law firm We The People, which represents the plaintiffs.

Google Play and Apple's App Store logos [GOOGLE, APPLE]

"Excessive commissions"

Complaints about high commissions from app store operators are not new.

A representative from the game publisher said the firm has made around 50 billion won in mobile game revenue over the past decade but paid about 14 billion won in fees to Google and Apple.

“About 28.5 percent of our revenue has gone to fees,” the source said.

The lawsuit builds on the precedent set in the United States by Epic Games, which sued Apple and Google in 2020 after its popular game Fortnite was removed from their app stores for introducing its own payment system.

In December 2023, a U.S. court ruled that Google had violated antitrust laws outside of China. In October 2024, the court ordered app marketplaces to allow third-party billing options.

Attorney Rhee Young-ki of We The People said the Epic Games case sets a "clear legal precedent" based on the principle of estoppel, which prevents a party from contradicting its earlier position.

"This strengthens our case significantly," Rhee said, adding that the legal team "intends to pursue collective mediation to help Korean game companies recover damages more quickly.”

Rep. Choi Min-hee of the Democratic Party, who chairs the National Assembly's Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee, holds a press conference at the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, on May 27, 2025, with members of the Korea Game Developers Association and other related groups to announce a bill aimed at banning retaliatory practices by app market operators like Google and Apple over alternative in-app payment methods. [YONHAP]

First country to push back

Korea became the first country to legally prohibit app store operators from forcing in-app payments in 2021.

The revision to the Telecommunications Business Act that year required platforms to allow alternative billing methods.

Google and Apple complied by permitting third-party payments but only reduced their commissions by 3 to 4 percentage points.

After payment gateway fees were added, total charges still hovered around 26 to 27 percent. Critics say this makes little difference in practice.

“There are many companies that don’t even complain, let alone join lawsuits, because they’re afraid of retaliation by Google or Apple,” said an industry insider.

“But now that Korean law is on the books and U.S. courts are also ruling against these high fees, there’s really no reason the government shouldn't take stronger regulatory action.”

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY YUN JUNG-MIN [[email protected]]