The South Korean Fair Trade Commission has initiated formal deliberation proceedings against Google for allegedly abusing its dominant position in the mobile app market. The antitrust watchdog issued a comprehensive examination report accusing the technology giant of violating the country’s Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act by executing anti-competitive exclusivity deals.
According to the regulatory findings, Google deployed an internal initiative known as the Games Velocity Program, or “Project Hug,” to lock in high-revenue game developers. Signed with prominent domestic and international studios—including Activision Blizzard King, Riot Games, NCSoft, and Netmarble—the contracts offered substantial financial subsidies for Google platform services like Cloud, Ads, and YouTube. In return, these developers were legally bound to provide Google Play with most-favored-treatment conditions, guaranteeing that their release schedules and product quality were equal to or better than any competing app marketplace.
The investigation revealed that the program was engineered with a progressive support structure, meaning Google increased its infrastructure subsidies as a developer generated more revenue through the Google Play Store. The examiner determined that these “golden handcuffs” effectively eradicated any incentive for major studios to launch titles on competing storefronts like South Korea’s homegrown platform, ONE Store. By blocking rival entries, the program allegedly allowed Google to force a system of de facto exclusive dealing across the digital gaming sector.
The financial scope of the case is immense, with the regulator estimating that the revenue tied to this market-dominance abuse totals $9.217 billion, or approximately 14.16 trillion won. Given the severe nature of the violations, which include systemic interference with rival business activities, the KFTC examiner has recommended strict corrective orders alongside heavy financial penalties. Under current South Korean statutes, the final committee can penalize the firm up to 6% of the affected revenue once deliberations conclude.
The formal case was built following multiple complaints from civic and gaming consumer advocacy groups, prompting on-site inspections, witness interviews, and an analysis of international litigation materials. While the review report reflects the findings of the investigative bureau, the final verdict will depend on an independent committee review. Google has been granted an eight-week window to submit its written defense and inspect the evidence before the commission convenes its plenary session to hand down a binding judgment.
