Apple Agrees To Lower Commission Fees To Korean App Developers

On Tuesday Apple announced it will voluntarily correct its unfair policy of charging greater commission fees to South Korean app developers.

Despite Apple’s announcement to voluntarily correct its commission policy, the Fair Trade Commission made clear it will continue to look into unfair business activities by Apple.

“If Apple fixes the problematic action well, it will ease difficulties faced by domestic app developers to some extent. Active communication between app market operators and app developers will also help establish a fair and dynamic app market ecosystem,” said Fair Trade Commission Chairman Han Ki-jeong during talks with app industry insiders held in Pangyo, Gyeonggi Province, Tuesday.

Read more: Korean Watchdog Raids Apple Over Excessive Fee Collection

The decision comes after South Korea’s antitrust watchdog began a probe into the iPhone maker over its Korea-exclusive charging system that is based on consumer prices, including value-added tax.

This means Korean developers are forced to pay a 33 percent commission to Apple, above the 30 percent rate imposed in other markets.

In an official statement, Apple said that starting from January next year it will calculate the commission for Korean developers excluding value-added tax from app-generated sales, and that additional details will be explained to app developers step by step.

“We will support Korean app developers to grow in all app stores around the world and feel pride in their work by providing them with the best tools and technology,” the statement read.