South Korea fines Google $32 million to stop it from releasing mobile games on a competitor’s platform

Seoul: South Korea’s antitrust regulator has fined Alphabet Inc’s Google ¥42.1 billion ($31.88 million) for blocking the release of a mobile video game on a competitor’s platform.

Google strengthened its market dominance by coercing video game makers to exclusively release their titles on Google Play in return for a platform, and a platform, the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) said on Tuesday. As the local app market hurt One Store’s revenue and value. -App exposure between June 2016 and April 2018.

The KFTC said the move against the US tech giant is part of the government’s efforts to ensure a fair market.

Game makers affected by Google’s action include Netmarble, Nexon and NCSOFT as well as other smaller companies, the antitrust regulator said.

In 2021, Google was fined over 200 billion by the KFTC for blocking customized versions of its Android operating system.

($1 = 1,320.4200 won)

(Reporting by Hyunsu Yim; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell)

Disclaimer: This report is generated automatically from Reuters news service. ThePrint is not responsible for its content.


Read also: US House committee chairman ‘concerned’ by Tesla deals in China