South Korea fines Google $32 mln for blocking games on competing platform

South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) fined Google 41.1 billion won ($31.9 million) for unfair competition in the mobile games market, Turanews.kz reports citing Yonhap news agency.

From June 2016 to April 2018, Google provided publishers with in-game advertising in exchange for exclusive release of games on the Google Play app store to undermine rival South Korean app store One Store.

“By blocking the release of games on the One Store, the US corporation was hindering innovation, hurting consumers in the app stores and the mobile gaming sector,” KFTC said in the verdict.

As a result, in two years, Google’s share among South Korean app stores has grown from 80-85% to 90-95%, while One Store’s share has decreased from 15-20% to 5-10%.

“Google is investing heavily in developer development, and we do not agree with the findings of KFTC,” the company’s spokesperson said.