Epic asks Apple to put Fortnite in South Korea back on the App Store

Epic Games wants its Apple developer account in South Korea back to be able to offer Fortnite in the App Store there again. The company has asked Apple to reactivate the account, citing new legislation in the country.

Epic plans to bring Fortnite for iOS back to South Korea, including its own payment system, in addition to Apple’s payment system. Which reports Epic Games. The game company refers to new legislation in South Korea for its request. In August, South Korea passed an amendment to the telecommunications law, requiring tech companies such as Apple and Google to allow alternative payment systems on their platforms.

Apple reports US media outlets such as MacRumors that the legislation is not yet in effect and that it welcomes Epics return to the App Store, as long as it meets the conditions. “Epic has admitted breach of contract and so far there is no legitimate basis for recovering the developer account,” Apple said.

Apple previously criticized the law change in South Korea. According to the company, the risk of fraud, privacy breaches and undermining functions such as parental controls increases if it were to allow alternative payment systems.

Epic and Apple are in a long-running legal dispute after Epic integrated its own payment system into Fortnite for iOS. In August 2020, Apple subsequently removed Fortnite from the App Store, because Epic violated the platform’s terms with the move.