South Korea opens antitrust proceedings over Google app market practices

South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission has begun formal deliberation procedures over allegations that Google abused its dominant position in the Android app market.

The case follows an examiner’s report submitted to the Commission, which outlines suspected violations of the country’s Fair Trade Act.

According to the report, Google used its Games/Google Velocity Program, known internally as Project Hug, to provide financial support for services such as Google Cloud, Google Ads and YouTube.

In return, participating game developers were allegedly required to launch games on Google’s app marketplace on terms at least as favourable as those offered to rival platforms.

The examiner concluded that the programme reduced incentives for developers to distribute games through competing app marketplaces, including ONE store, while strengthening Google’s position in the Android app ecosystem.

The allegedly affected revenue was estimated at 14.16 trillion won, or about $9.1 billion. If violations are confirmed, potential penalties could reach up to 6% of that amount.

Google will have an opportunity to respond before the Commission reaches a final decision.

The case adds to wider global scrutiny of app-store competition and the ways dominant platforms use developer incentives, contracts and ecosystem services to shape market access.

Why does it matter?

The case shows how antitrust scrutiny of app stores is expanding beyond commission fees and payment systems into developer incentive programmes and platform-service bundles. If KFTC confirms the allegations, the decision could influence how dominant platforms structure support packages for developers and whether such programmes are treated as loyalty-inducing conduct. It also reinforces South Korea’s role as an active jurisdiction in digital-platform competition enforcement.

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