253 perusahaan game domestik, mendorong pengembalian dana hingga 2 triliun won untuk biaya pembayaran dalam aplikasi Google……Google menyatakan bersedia berdamai

Korea game companies are expected to recover some of the in-app payment commissions paid to Google and Apple over the years. As Google agrees to a collective mediation request from 253 domestic game companies, the possibility of refunds totaling up to 2 trillion won is gradually becoming clearer.

■ 253 companies file collective mediation with U.S. federal court

According to industry sources, Google has recently expressed its willingness to mediate, involving a collective mediation of in-app payment commissions filed by 253 Korean game companies, including Fangs Sky, in U.S. federal court.

The dispute arose from game companies claiming that the maximum 30% in-app payment commission charged by Google and Apple is unreasonable. The game companies demand a refund of the excess amount beyond the reasonable rate (4~6%), and filed for collective mediation in May and June last year.

■ Google internal documents become “key evidence”

The game companies’ claims are based on internal documents from Google itself. Internal data disclosed during the antitrust lawsuit between Epic Games and Google in November 2023 shows that the reasonable commission rate for in-app payments is 4~6%, and even under competitive market standards, the maximum is only 10%.

Based on this, the game companies argue that 24~26 percentage points of the maximum 30% commission paid so far are excessive, and demand a full refund of this amount.

■ Loss assessments for 157 companies completed… estimated refunds could reach up to 2 trillion won

According to We The People law firm, which is leading this collective mediation, the loss assessments for 157 companies over the past ten years have been completed. The total commissions paid by these companies to Google and Apple amount to 48.513 trillion won (about 70 trillion won), with 14.11 billion USD (about 2.09 trillion won) identified as amounts exceeding the reasonable rate.

Loss calculations for the remaining 96 companies are also underway, and the final refund amount may increase further. However, since the applicable commission rates vary among companies and depending on arbitration and negotiation outcomes, the actual refund amount may fluctuate.

■ Apple also faces settlement pressure… “95% of antitrust lawsuits end in settlement”

Currently, Apple has not officially expressed a willingness to settle alone. However, industry experts believe that, following Google’s actions, Apple is also likely to seek a settlement.

Lawyer Lee Young-ki from We The People emphasized: “In the U.S., if found to violate antitrust laws, punitive damages can be imposed, potentially exceeding three times the amount,” and “so far, over 95% of related lawsuits have ended in settlement.”