South Korea fines Google $31 million
Seoul, Apr 11 (EFE).- The South Korean antitrust regulator imposed a KRW 42.1 billion (about $31 million) on Google and its regional subsidiaries for unfair practices aimed at perpetuating their dominance in the local video game market for mobile devices.
According to the country’s Fair Trade Commission, the company signed illegal agreements with South Korean video game companies between June 2016 and April 2018 that forced them to launch their products only on their Google Play store.
They were prevented from launching their content on One Store, a platform belonging to the three local telephone operators (KT, LGU+ and SKT) and internet service giant Naver.
The commission said Google strengthened its dominance in the local market and asked employees to delete emails related to the matter to avoid leaving traces related to these contracts.
The Mountain View-based company denied the allegations, saying it would soon determine whether to appeal the commission’s decision.
“Google makes a substantial investment in developer success and we respectfully disagree with the South Korean FTC’s decision,” the company said in a Tuesday statement. EFE
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