Telecommunications Business Act, scheduled to be enforced on December 10, 2020, defines an app market operator as the one who registers and sells mobile content and mediates transactions so that users can purchase the content among other businesses providing value-added telecommunications services.

Nonetheless, since the App Market Mobile Content Payment Guidelines by the Korea Communications Commission are not legally binding, the guidelines are not sufficient to prevent app market operators from engaging in unfair practices against mobile content providers by taking advantage of their superior position in transactions.

In this regard, this Act aims to ban app market operators from taking advantage of their superior position in transactions to force mobile content providers to use a certain payment method or not provide their mobile content to other app market operators, and allow the Korea Communications Commission to efficiently manage app market operators through factual investigation and corrective order in an effort to protect the rights and interests of users and mobile content providers (Article 22-9 newly inserted).

Article 22-9 (Obligations of App Market Operators) ① App market operators shall not engage in any of the following:

1. App market operators take advantage of their superior position to force the person who provides their mobile content to any space which registers and sells mobile content and mediates transactions so that users can purchase the content (“app market”) in order to sell their content (“mobile content providers”) to use a certain payment method;

2. App market operators unfairly delay a review on mobile content or remove the content from their app market;

3. Discourage mobile content providers from providing their mobile content to other app market operators, and;

4. Engage in other unfair practices taking advantage of their superior position in transactions as prescribed by Presidential Decree

② App market operators shall protect users and prevent any harm regarding mobile content payment and refund as prescribed by Presidential Decree.

③ The Korea Communications Commission may have its public officials investigate facts defined in paragraph 1 as prescribed by Presidential Decree or order app market operators to submit required documentation. In such cases, any factual investigation and documentation submission procedure and method shall be based on Article 51.

“Article 22-7” under Article 92 paragraph 1 subparagraph 1 shall be revised to “Article 22-7, Article 22-9.”