Korea’s High Court upholds 224.9 billion won fine against Google

The Seoul High Court has upheld the 220 billion won fine imposed by the Fair Trade Commission on Google for prohibiting smartphone manufacturers, such as Samsung Electronics, from utilizing mobile operating system (OS) aside from Android, which was legal. On Jan 24, Seoul High Court's Administrative Division 6-3 ruled that the plaintiff lost the lawsuit filed by Google against the Fair Trade Commission, requesting to reverse the fine and order the correction of the practice.

In 2021, the Fair Trade Commission viewed that Google LLC, Google Asia Pacific, and Google Korea violated the Fair Trade Act by interfering with competitors' business activities and abusing their market dominant position, imposing a fine of 224.9 billion won along with a corrective order. Korea’s antitrust regulator determined that since 2011, Google has prevented other operation systems from entering the market and strengthened its market dominance in mobile business by requiring smart device manufacturers to use only Android OS developed by Google.

“We regret that the court’s dismissing of the claim despite Android’s compatibility program contributing to global expansion and success of domestic manufacturers and app developers and bringing many benefits to domestic consumers,” said Google. Google will determine how to respond after reviewing the court ruling. The High Court and the Supreme Court govern litigation against the Fair Trade Commission's decision.


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