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| Google headquarters in California / Korea time file |
By Kim Jae-heun
The Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) is speeding up its examination of Google's new policy to increase its commission for application transactions to 30 percent.
The country's top antitrust watchdog is conducting a survey of local game-makers, online music streamers and webtoon platform operators that have launched their app service through Google's Play Store.
The survey aims to study the effect of the increased commission that the information technology giant plans to forcibly adopt here next October.
All the paid-for content provided by game-makers such as Nexon and Netmarble, and online music streaming from Melon must be bought from the Play Store. There has been a prediction that if Google starts taking a 30 commission, sales of local app developers will decrease and service fees will increase.
Prof. Yoo Byung-joon at the Business School of Seoul National University estimated there will be a 2.11 trillion won fall in sales from the raised commission during an open forum held by the Korea Internet Corporations Association, last month. This is based on the premise that Google will make 9.27 trillion won in new profits.
Musicians' earnings from music streaming will decrease. Songwriters and singers get certain percentage of what listeners pay to use music streaming services; but when Google increases its commission this will take from that percentage.
There is still more than half a year until Google adopts the new system, but the is conducting a rapid investigation into the issue as it affects local consumers, creators and firms in related fields.
The antitrust watchdog will send Google an examination report early next year related to allegations that the global IT firm forces domestic game companies to launch their applications only on its Play Store.
In mid-December, the FTC already sent another examination report on accusations that Google prevented local firms from introducing games on its rivals operating services.
Since 2016, it has been investigating whether Google has forced smartphone makers such as Samsung Electronics to use its Android OS to establish an exclusive position in the market.
The antitrust watchdog will hold a meeting in the first half of next year to finalize any levels of sanctions on Google for this, and its alleged demands that local firms exclusively release their apps for the Android OS.
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