The Korea Game User Association filed for collective dispute mediation with the Consumer Dispute Mediation Committee of the Korea Consumer Agency on the 2nd. The goal is to seek relief for consumer damages stemming from Google's Most Favoured Nation (MFN) agreements with major game publishers, known as 'Project Hug'.

On the 1st, the Association and the Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice (CCEJ) expressed their cautious welcome—despite some minor grievances—regarding the Korea Fair Trade Commission's decision to issue an investigation report proposing hundreds of billions of won in fines against Google for forcing in-app payment commissions and obstructing entry into competing app markets.

The crux of this collective mediation is the refund of 'inflated in-app payment commissions' borne by game users, the end consumers, due to Google's anti-competitive practices. During US federal court proceedings, expert testimony revealed that the actual cost of Google's in-app payment services is a mere 4-6%. Furthermore, internal documents surfaced showing Google offered a 10% commission rate to keep Netflix from bypassing its billing system. A US jury unanimously ruled that Google's mandatory 30% commission policy violated antitrust laws.

The lead representative for this collective dispute mediation application is Attorney Lee Chul-woo, the Chairperson of the Korea Game User Association, who also served as the primary complainant in the Fair Trade Commission case.

Attorney Lee is a veteran expert in consumer rights protection who previously spearheaded a successful collective dispute mediation for the 'MapleStory probability manipulation incident,' which involved 800,000 participants and a settlement worth 21.9 billion won. Attorney Lee has also handled numerous high-profile cases, including personal data breaches at SKT and Coupang, and the Hyundai-Kia refrigerant leak incident.

Chairperson Lee Chul-woo stated, "The massive excess profits Google raked in by monopolizing the app market ultimately came from the pockets of our game consumers," adding, "We filed this collective mediation to urge the establishment of a reasonable compensation plan that extends beyond just the applicants involved in this process, covering all affected consumers."

The applicants, consisting of the Association and Google consumers, emphasized that as Google's abuse of market dominance remains an ongoing issue in the South Korean market, relevant authorities must maintain rigorous oversight. They further stressed that continuous relief measures must be developed to effectively protect domestic consumers from the tyranny of multinational corporations and to ensure the recovery of damages.