South Korea fines Google $31.9m for unfair competition

Google was fined tens of millions of dollars in South Korea. The reason was unfair competition in the mobile games market.

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The US giant, offered developers ad placement if they agreed to release games exclusively on the Google Play app shop. The practice continued from summer 2016 to mid-spring 2018.

South Korea's Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) said that Google's actions damaged Korea's One Store. Its market share dropped from 15-20% to 5-10%. On the other hand, Google was able to increase its presence from 80-85% to 90-95%.

The fine amounted to $31.9 million. This is not the first similar violation. Two years ago, the KFTC fined Google about $151 million for blocking modified versions of the Android operating system.

Source: Reuters