App Market and Platform Regulation in Korea: A Two-Track Approach in Shaping

초록

Seven bills amending the Telecommunications Business Act were introduced in the National Assembly of Korea in the second half of 2020 to remove restrictive business practices and promote fair competition in app markets. The bills prohibited app stores from requiring a specific payment method and from requiring developers to not register their apps in other stores. App stores must stop discriminatory treatment of developers, undue deletion of apps, and undue delay in the review of apps applying for registration. Finally, app stores must refrain from undue self-preferencing or tying their own apps. In August 2021, the National Assembly of Korea adopted a consolidated bill. This paper describes the debates and conflicts of interest reflected in the legislative process of the bills, and the difficulties in the enforcement stage. Meanwhile, the Korea Fair Trade Commission failed to enact an Online Platform Act but adopted an administrative guideline instead. This paper tries to provide practical and theoretical explanations for the Korean experience in the regulation of app market and online platforms. It predicts an emergence of ex ante regulation and per se rules in the application of competition law.

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