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South Korea fined Alphabet Inc’s Google 42.1 billion won ($32 million) for using its clout in the mobile app market to squeeze out a local rival, the latest sign of intensifying scrutiny on the US tech firm as it seeks to expand overseas.
Google tried to block Korean platform rival One Store Co’s growth, Korea’s Fair Trade Commission said in an e-mailed statement. Google allegedly asked some of Korean game companies including NCSoft Corp and Netmarble Corp, as well as smaller firms and Chinese companies, to exclusively release their new games in Google’s Play Store, in return for Google promoting their games and providing further support abroad.
Google featuring a game on its top pages was seen as crucial for Korean game companies’ success in expanding overseas, where many of their games’ visibility is low, the FTC said.
Google — which controls roughly three-quarters of Korea’s mobile app market — has denied offering benefits to developers who put their apps only on Google Play.