US Dollar Edges Higher as Inflation Data and Middle East Tensions Shape Market Sentiment 
Coupang Hit With Record $409 Million Fine Over Data Breach Affecting 33 Million Users 
Trump Signals Possible U.S.-Iran Peace Deal as Hormuz Reopening Nears 
EngineAI Files for Hong Kong IPO Amid Rising Demand for AI and Robotics Stocks 
Oil Prices Surge Above $93 as Trump Escalates Iran Pressure and Strait of Hormuz Tensions Deepen 
OpenAI Eyes Massive 10GW Ohio Data Center Campus in Potential $500 Billion AI Infrastructure Deal 
Sigma Healthcare Shares Slide Amid Preliminary Boots Acquisition Talks 
Gold Prices Drop as Strong Dollar, Rising U.S.-Iran Tensions Weigh on Market Sentiment 
Hanmi Semicon Shares Surge After $33 Million SpaceX Investment 
Asian Stocks Slide as Tech Selloff Deepens and US-Iran Conflict Escalates 
Intesa Sanpaolo Launches €30.6 Billion Bid for Monte dei Paschi to Drive Italian Banking Consolidation 
Oracle Stock Falls Despite Earnings Beat as Company Plans $40 Billion Financing for FY2027 
Gold Prices Slide Toward Second Weekly Loss as Fed Rate Hike Expectations Weigh on Market 
SK Hynix Stock Rebounds as AI Memory Chip Demand Fuels Expansion Plans 
oOh!media Takeover Battle Intensifies as Bain Capital Joins Competing Bids 
Wizz Air Beats Profit Forecast as Cost Controls Offset Industry Challenges 
Asian Stocks Rally as Trump Signals Iran Peace Deal; Tech and Chip Shares Rebound Strongly 
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.
