Apple has promised to correct an odd Apple Store policy that was forcing developers in South Korea to pay 33% in commission, according to South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission. Developers in the region will now be required to pay the tech giant 30% in commission.
Apple to correct App Store policy in South Korea that was forcing developers to pay higher commission
According to a new report from The Register, Apple’s promise to fix the policy came after the Korean Fair Trade Commission (FTC), launched an antitrust campaign against the tech giant.
“If Apple’s voluntary correction is carried out well in the future, I think it will alleviate some of the difficulties of domestic app developers, and help app market operators and app developers communicate more actively to build a fairer and more vibrant app market ecosystem,” said FTC Chairman Han Ki-jung, via machine translation from Korean.
In South Korea, developers have not only been charged on the price of the app, but Apple included the region’s 10% local value-added tax (VAT) in the commission as well, adding up to 33%.
Now, in accordance with other developers around the globe, developers in South Korea will be required to pay Apple’s standard 30% commission. The change is expected to go into effect starting in January 2023.
It is important to note that although Apple has said it will forgo the 33% commission, the fact that developers have to pay taxes is unchanged. However, given that South Korea is turning into an important market for Apple, it would be beneficial for the tech giant to act in accordance with the region’s laws and cooperate with all investigations.
In related news, South Korea’s telecommunications regulator is looking into Apple’s App Store and Alphabet’s Google and One Store over suspicions of the app store violating the country’s in-app payment law. If the investigation suggests that the tech giants have been violating the region’s laws, they may have to pay a fine that could go as high as 2% of their annual revenue.
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