The Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) has officially initiated sanction proceedings by submitting an examiner's report to the commission regarding Google's alleged violations of the Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act (abuse of market-dominant position).

The investigation began following complaints from civic groups, including the Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice, and involved on-site inspections and an analysis of civil litigation documents from U.S. antitrust authorities. The KFTC found evidence that Google abused its overwhelming market share—exceeding 80% in the domestic Android app market—to stifle competition.

According to the KFTC, Google entered into 'GVP' (Google Play Games) contracts, known as 'Project Hug,' with 22 game developers to prevent them from leaving the platform in response to high in-app purchase fees. However, the KFTC did not charge the game developers with collusion, concluding that given Google's market power, they were in no position to refuse the offer.

The GVP contracts mandated 'most-favored-nation' (MFN) status, requiring developers to ensure that new game releases and in-app benefits were at least as favorable on Google Play as on competing platforms. In return, Google provided financial support for services such as cloud, ads, and YouTube, using a progressive structure that increased support as revenue on its platform grew, effectively locking the developers into its ecosystem.

The examiner determined that through these MFN conditions and progressive support schemes, Google obstructed the business activities of rival platforms like One Store and effectively blocked game developers from entering other markets. The KFTC characterizes this as an act of business obstruction and exclusive dealing that effectively forced developers into an exclusive relationship with Google.

The unfair practices, which spanned approximately six years and nine months from July 2019 to March 2026, affected related revenue totaling $9.21777 billion (approximately ₩14.16 trillion). The examiner classified this as a serious violation and recommended that the commission issue a corrective order and impose fines.

The commission may impose fines of up to 6% of the relevant revenue following its deliberations. Given that Google was previously sanctioned in 2023 for excluding rival markets, the possibility of enhanced penalties remains open. The KFTC plans to hold a plenary session to reach a final decision as soon as the procedures to guarantee Google's right to defense are completed.