Google in-app payment fine to be formalized 'soon,' broadcasting regulator chief says

South Korea's Korea Broadcasting, Media and Communications Commission said it will soon formally launch proceedings to impose a fine on Google over its mandatory in-app payment policy.

Commission Chairman Kim Jong-chul made the announcement Monday morning at a six-month press briefing at the Gwacheon Government Complex. On the pending fine related to Google's forced in-app billing practices, Kim said the matter was "something we have been preparing with a full understanding of its urgency and gravity," adding that it was "going through a bit more deliberation and will be formalized soon."

The commission's predecessor, the Korea Communications Commission, announced in 2023 that it intended to fine Google 47.5 billion won (about $31.2 million) and Apple 20.5 billion won for compelling developers to use their in-app payment systems — but more than two years on, neither fine has actually been imposed.

However, Kim declined to elaborate on the specifics of the fine, saying it was "difficult to disclose at this stage as it is a matter for committee deliberation."

On the establishment of the Media Development Committee — a tentatively named body and one of the Lee Jae Myung administration's key policy priorities — Kim said the work was "still in the early stages" and that "it looks like it will take a somewhat extended period" to complete.

Kim identified the committee's establishment as a major second-half priority for the commission, saying it was "in the process of preparing for the organizational structure as the lead agency and consulting with the Office for Government Policy Coordination."

The Lee administration has designated the creation of a "future-oriented digital and media ecosystem" as National Policy Task No. 108, pledging to establish the Media Development Committee as a public-private joint body under the direct authority of the prime minister. The body would serve as a control tower consolidating media policy authority currently spread across the commission, the Ministry of Science and ICT, and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, with the aim of responding to the rapidly shifting media landscape and managing media strategy more efficiently.

The briefing also included questions on pending broadcasting issues, including delays in convening KBS's programming board and a liquidity crisis at JTBC.

On the delayed formation of the KBS programming board — which the revised Broadcasting Act now mandates — Kim said he found the delay "deeply regrettable," characterizing the situation as "a continuing state of legal violation in which the Broadcasting Act is not being enforced."

KBS technically completed the formal composition of the board late last month after employee representatives finished nominating their members, but management has since postponed convening a meeting, citing a dispute over the legitimacy of those nominees. The revised Broadcasting Act, which took effect in August last year, requires a 10-member board with five seats each for management and employee representatives — elevating what had previously been a voluntary arrangement to a statutory obligation.

In this regard, Kim drew a line against immediate administrative intervention by the commission, citing concerns including freedom of expression, but doubled down on his position that "refraining from direct intervention must not be mistaken for approval of the conduct. Legal proceedings cannot justify the delay of the programming board."

On JTBC's liquidity crisis, Kim said he did not expect the situation to "immediately affect broadcast operations," adding that "the financial assessment is included in JTBC's re-approval process, so we will examine it together." JTBC recently had its credit rating downgraded after failing to repay 20.6 billion won in securitized borrowings.

Meanwhile, marking his six-month anniversary in office, Kim said the commission had been moving swiftly to resolve key issues through proper procedures, even amid delays in filling its full membership.

The commission completed the appointment and commissioning of four standing and non-standing members in April, putting it on a path to normal operations roughly six months after its launch. Since its first plenary session on April 10, the commission has held 17 full meetings over roughly two months, deliberating on or receiving reports on 98 agenda items.

Kim cited the commission's key achievements as establishing its operational framework, along with re-licensing terrestrial and pay broadcasters, revising enforcement decrees and regulations under the three broadcasting laws, selecting organizations to recommend public broadcaster board members, announcing measures to promote home shopping industry cooperation and vitality, pushing to amend the enforcement decree of the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection to counter disinformation, and amending the enforcement decree of the Telecommunications Business Act. "The past two months were a process of simultaneously securing organizational stability and policy momentum," he said.

In addition, Kim pledged to pursue the establishment of the Media Development Committee, the Korea Broadcasting, Media and Communications Promotion Agency (tentative name), and a Transparency Center, saying the commission would work to "create an environment where innovation and growth in the media industry, protection of public rights and interests, and the realization of public values are in harmony — going beyond simply responding to immediate issues."