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Photo = Fair Trade Commission |
[Alpha Biz= Kim Jisun] Seoul, May 7, 2025 — South Korea’s antitrust regulator, the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC), is set to decide next week whether to initiate a consent decision process in response to Google’s alleged unfair bundling of YouTube Music with its YouTube Premium service.
According to government sources on Tuesday, the KFTC will hold a plenary session on May 14 to determine whether to begin the process based on a self-remedy proposal submitted by Google last month.
A consent decision is a procedure in which a company voluntarily admits to potential anti-competitive conduct and proposes corrective measures, allowing the regulator to resolve the case swiftly. While it is designed to minimize consumer harm through expedited resolution, critics argue it may serve as a de facto exoneration for the offending firm.
The KFTC launched an investigation into Google Korea in February 2023 over allegations that the company engaged in illegal tying practices by bundling YouTube Music with YouTube Premium, a paid subscription service that allows ad-free video viewing. After approximately 17 months of investigation, the KFTC issued an examiner’s report containing its proposed sanctions to Google Korea in July 2024.
Since the launch of YouTube Premium in South Korea in 2019, Google has bundled its music streaming service, YouTube Music, at no additional cost. This bundling is believed to have significantly disrupted the local digital music market, allowing YouTube Music to rapidly overtake domestic services like Genie Music and Melon to become the country's leading music streaming platform.
The KFTC has viewed this as a textbook case of market dominance abuse, prompting enforcement actions. In response, Google submitted a proposal including plans to launch a new “YouTube Premium Lite” service that does not include access to YouTube Music.
The KFTC has yet to reach a final decision on whether to accept the proposed self-remedy. While many within the commission are reportedly in favor of opening the consent process to avoid trade friction, others caution that it could effectively grant Google a pass for years of anticompetitive behavior. Some also argue that accepting the consent decision too readily could weaken Korea’s position in future negotiations on digital market regulations with the United States.
The commission is expected to make a comprehensive assessment based on the effectiveness of the remedy plan, its enforceability through post-monitoring, and whether competition in the market can be fully restored.
알파경제 Kim Jisun (stockmk2020@alphabiz.co.kr)
