Apple hints at submitting compliance plans on in-app payment law

Apple could submit its compliance plans for a new South Korean law that bans app store operators from forcing in-app payment systems on developers, industry sources said Tuesday.

The new law went into effect in September, making South Korea the first country in the world to introduce such curbs on in-app billing policies of Apple and Google.

The Korea Communications Commission (KCC) requested Apple to turn in its compliance plans within this year as it drafted an enforcement decree of the revised law in November.

Last month, Google pledged to provide an alternative payment system on its app store in South Korea in an apparent move to follow the country's new law.

According to industry sources, Apple has recently told the KCC that it will closely review and submit detailed compliance plans when the enforcement decree of the revised law becomes more specific.

Still, it remains unclear whether Apple will actually turn in the compliance plans within this year or whether they will include an alternative payment system.

An official at the KCC said the regulator has been asking Apple to submit its compliance plans, saying there appears to be a "slight change" in the tech giant's views on the in-app payment law.

South Korea's in-app payment law came amid growing global scrutiny against Google and Apple for requiring developers on their app stores to use their proprietary payment systems that charge fees of up to 30 percent when users purchase digital goods within apps.

Developers around the world have questioned app market operators' exclusive in-app payment systems, opposing their relatively high commissions and demanding they should be able to freely use other systems. (Yonhap)