Naver to benefit from 'Anti-Google law' in South Korea: Report

Naver’s arm that operates the Naver Pay payment service is reportedly one of the companies that will benefit from the new “Anti-Google” law that was imposed by the South Korean government last week.

The world’s first “Anti-Google” law that aims to curb app store operators like Google and Apple from requiring app developers and customers to use their own in-app billing systems for transactions was passed at the country’s National Assembly last week. It was said that this new law will be greatly beneficial to Naver Financial.

According to The Korea Times, Naver Pay is not listed in the payment methods for in-app purchases on Google Play Store although it made an attempt to include it via partnership. It was suggested that the deal did not push through possibly due to rivalry between Naver and Google in the search engine market and other sects.

It was said that the talks may not have ended up with a partnership deal because Naver will be forced to share part of its VIBE music and Webtoon’s profits to Google via its Play Store. Furthermore, Naver was said to have supported the Korea Internet Corporations Association's moves to prevent the American tech giant from using its own in-app billing system to secure and maintain market dominance.

"Such a plan could have dealt a severe blow to mobile payment service providers that fail to be chosen by Google," KICA’s representative said in a statement. "The new law will enable fair competition among fintech companies because app market operators will not be able to force the use of specific payment methods."

With the new law, people can now choose Naver Pay for their in-app transactions, and apparently, this is advantageous for Naver Financial. Korea Joongang Daily reported that the new “Anti-Google law” in South Korea will officially take effect in 15 days from the day it was passed.

This means that local payment systems may now be integrated into Google, Apple, and other app stores as alternative payment modes. Business insiders are still waiting to see how the changes will play out once it is fully implemented but they are predicting that other countries will follow and as for tech companies, they may find other ways to collect commissions such as imposing higher fee rates for webtoons, music and other services.