South Korea fines Apple $15.5 million and orders App Store payment changes
Korea's regulator found Apple restricted payments, delayed app reviews and charged local developers higher fees.
Apple · Macfolio · 29 October 2026
South Korea's Korea Media and Communications Commission (KMCC) fined Apple 20.81 billion won, about $15.5 million, on October 28, 2026, and ordered it to change how it handles app payments and app reviews. Google was fined 42.9 billion won in the same decision. It is the first enforcement case under the 2021 amendment to the Telecommunications Business Act, the law that was meant to open up in-app payments in Korea.
What the regulator found
The KMCC decision lists three violations, two shared with Google and one that applies only to Apple:
- Forcing payment methods: Apple allowed only its own in-app purchase and third-party in-app payment, charged a 26% commission on the latter, withheld features such as subscription management, required separate app submissions, and barred external payment links.
- Delaying app reviews: the regulator says Apple did not give specific reasons for delays or clear answers to developers asking about timelines.
- Discriminatory commissions: from July 2015 to January 2023, Apple calculated its 30% commission on the VAT-inclusive price for Korean developers but on the price excluding VAT for overseas developers.
The corrective orders require Apple to revise its payment and app review policies and to prevent the commission discrimination from recurring.
What happens next
Apple told Reuters and The Associated Press that it disagrees with the decision and is evaluating its options, which could include a court challenge. The KMCC release notes that Apple had already briefed the regulator on planned voluntary changes, but it does not give a compliance deadline. Nothing changes in the App Store today, and this decision applies only to the Korean storefront.
For developers selling in Korea, the practical question is whether external payment links arrive, and on what commission terms. Korea now joins the EU, Japan and Australia in forcing changes to Apple's payment rules.
Our take: the fine is small for Apple, but the order on review transparency is the part other regulators are likely to copy.
Caveats: the dollar figure is an approximate conversion. Apple has not published updated Korean App Store terms, and any appeal could delay the changes.