App Store South Korea: External Payments and the 26% Fee

In South Korea, an app distributed only on the Korean storefront can take payments through a local payment provider, like KCP or Toss, instead of Apple's in-app purchase. Apple then takes 26% of the price paid, VAT included, and the provider's fees come on top. For a small developer, who pays 15% with in-app purchase thanks to the Small Business Program, this option costs more.

This guide gives you the exact entitlement, the Korea-only binary, the rates and every step, based on Apple's pages as I reread them on October 27, 2026. I haven't tested this option: the worked example below is a calculation, not a measurement. In-app purchase is still available in Korea, and it's the default choice. Exceptions in other countries are covered in the guideline 3.1.1 guide. Japan and Brazil each have their own guide.

What the Korean option allows

According to Apple's page on South Korea, also published in Korean, it all comes from amendments to Korea's Telecommunications Business Act (전기통신사업법). An app distributed on the App Store only in South Korea can hand its in-app purchases to another payment provider. Apple calls this right the StoreKit External Purchase Entitlement.

Three rules frame everything else:

• the entitlement only works for an iOS or iPadOS app, on the Korean storefront;
• it applies to a new binary, distributed only in Korea;
• it can't coexist with Apple's in-app purchase in the same app.

Payment happens inside the app, through your provider. The page doesn't provide for a button to your website: the user only leaves the app if the law requires it to complete the purchase.

The 26% commission: what it covers

Apple charges 26% of the price paid by the user, "gross of any value-added taxes," so VAT included. Apple presents this rate as reduced, because it excludes payment processing. That processing is billed to you by your provider, on top.

Three things change compared to in-app purchase:

• taxes become your job: you collect and remit them, according to the entitlement addendum for Korea;
• the page publishes no reduced rate, neither for the Small Business Program nor for subscriptions after one year;
• the calculation base includes VAT, whereas the in-app purchase commission is calculated on the price net of collected taxes, according to section 3.4 of Schedule 2 of the Apple Developer Program License Agreement.

You'll sometimes read "27%": that's the rate for other programs, like the one for dating apps in the Netherlands, where Apple lowers its commission by 3 points. For Korea, Apple's page says 26%.

Approved payment providers

Apple lists four providers already qualified for the Korean storefront: KCP, Inicis (이니시스), Toss (토스) and NICE.

You can propose another one. Apple then checks its security, fraud prevention, payment methods, subscription billing and ability to pay the commission directly to Apple. A provider outside this list can delay your request or get it rejected.

You're allowed only one provider per entitlement, and an update form lets you switch. You can't store or transmit payment data yourself. Providers' fees aren't listed on Apple's page and I haven't gathered them: ask each one.

The Korea-only binary

This is the constraint that decides everything. The entitlement is requested for a bundle ID that has never been published on the App Store. So your current app can't get it. You create another app, with its own bundle ID, available only in Korea.

• This binary doesn't include Apple's in-app purchase.
• If the new app is a version of an app that already sells through in-app purchase, you must remove the old one from the Korean storefront before Apple approves the new one.
• The new app has its own listing: it starts without the old app's ratings or history in Korea.

So you maintain two apps: the worldwide app with in-app purchase, and the Korean app with your provider. Every update gets submitted twice.

26% or 15%: the math for a small developer

The Small Business Program brings the in-app purchase commission down to 15%, if you enroll, as long as your proceeds stay under $1 million per calendar year. Its page has no exception for Korea, only one case for the European Union. The conditions are detailed in the Small Business Program guide.

Here's an example for a 10,000 won purchase, VAT included. Assumptions: you're not a Korean resident, and the price includes 10% VAT, to be confirmed by your accountant. Provider fees aren't counted.

For 10,000 won paid	Small Business	Standard rate	External payment
Commission base	9,091 won	9,091 won	10,000 won
Apple's rate	15%	30%	26%
Apple's commission	1,364 won	2,727 won	2,600 won
VAT of 909 won	By Apple	By Apple	By you
Payment fees	Included	Included	Extra
What you keep	7,727 won	6,364 won	6,491 won before fees

What the table shows:

• Compared to the Small Business Program, external payment costs you 1,236 won per sale, or 16% of what you keep, before the provider's fees even kick in.
• Compared to the standard 30% rate, you gain 127 won, or 1.3% of the price. The 4-point gap between 30% and 26% shrinks to 1.3 points, because the 26% applies to the VAT-inclusive price.
• For a subscription at the standard rate, the in-app purchase commission drops to 15% after one year of paid subscription, under the same section 3.4. External payment stays at 26%: the Korean page announces no reduction.

The "External payment" column doesn't count everything. Add a second binary to maintain, the monthly sales report, customer support for payments, and VAT to file yourself.

External payment only beats in-app purchase if you pay 30% and your provider costs you less than 1.3% of the price.

Method and limits

I read the HTML of Apple's Korean page, the Small Business Program page and the license agreement, with no automated summary. Three rules drive the calculation: 26% VAT included for external payment, a commission on the price net of collected taxes for in-app purchase (Schedule 2, section 3.4), and VAT remitted by Apple for developers not resident in Korea (Exhibit B of Schedule 2).

If you're a Korean resident, you remit VAT yourself, even with in-app purchase. Apple then removes an estimated VAT from the price before calculating its commission (Exhibit B), and adds Korean VAT on that commission (Exhibit C, section 7). Have your accountant redo the math.

Limits: the 10% VAT is an assumption, provider fees aren't counted, and no real test was done.

Steps to get the entitlement

1. Redo the math with your real prices and the fees quoted by the provider.
2. Pick an approved provider: KCP, Inicis, Toss or NICE. Check that it handles subscriptions if you sell them, and that its payment flow is native.
3. Prepare a fresh bundle ID, never published, reserved for the Korean app.
4. Fill out the request form as the Account Holder. Apple asks for the app name, its description, the bundle ID, the provider, your website domain and your customer support URL. You also accept the entitlement's terms.
5. Wait for Apple's confirmation email, then enable the entitlement on the App ID, in Certificates, Identifiers & Profiles.
6. Configure the binary and the required StoreKit code, as described below.
7. Create the listing in App Store Connect, with availability limited to South Korea.
8. Submit the app once your provider is ready to take payments, with screenshots of the screens where you inform the user. If the new app is a version of an app sold in Korea with in-app purchase, remove the old one from that storefront.

Apple warns: an incomplete request or an unapproved provider lengthens the review, or leads to rejection.

Configure the binary: Xcode or Expo

The entitlement works from iOS 15 and iPadOS 15. In Xcode, two files change.

In the .entitlements file, add the entitlement:

• key: com.apple.developer.storekit.external-purchase;
• type: Boolean;
• value: true.

In Info.plist, add the SKExternalPurchase key, an array of strings, with the code for South Korea. Apple's Korean page writes KR. The key's reference asks for a lowercase code and lists kr for South Korea. I'd use kr, like the technical reference.

On the next build, Xcode sees the provisioning profile no longer matches and asks for a new one.

With Expo, both keys go through app.json, in ios.entitlements and ios.infoPlist:

{
  "expo": {
    "ios": {
      "bundleIdentifier": "com.example.myapp.kr",
      "entitlements": {
        "com.apple.developer.storekit.external-purchase": true
      },
      "infoPlist": {
        "SKExternalPurchase": ["kr"]
      }
    }
  }
}

The bundle ID is a made-up example. To keep one project and ship two apps, Expo documents app variants with app.config.js. A worldwide variant keeps in-app purchase, a Korean variant gets these keys. Your usual paywall, wired to in-app purchase as in the RevenueCat guide, stays in the worldwide variant. Don't ship in-app purchase in the Korean variant, even disabled: Apple forbids any hidden or dormant payment feature. The StoreKit calls required below do stay: they're written in Swift, so with Expo, plan for a native module, for example with the Expo Modules API.

The disclosure sheet and the payment flow

Apple requires three StoreKit calls:

• check canMakePayments before every purchase or payment entry flow, to know whether the user is allowed to pay;
• show Apple's disclosure sheet with the StoreKit External Purchase API, via presentNoticeSheet(), from iOS 15.4;
• confirm the storefront with Storefront or SKStorefront when you don't call that API: Korea must be the user's storefront before every flow.

The presentNoticeSheet() documentation adds two rules: check ExternalPurchase.canPresent first, available from iOS 17.4, and only open the sheet after a deliberate user action, like tapping a button. If the user doesn't continue, you don't show the external purchase.

Between iOS 15.0 and 15.3, you reproduce Apple's provided design and text exactly. In every case, the sheet appears before every purchase and every payment method entry, until the user taps "계속" (Continue), device by device.

Its Korean title: "이 앱은 App Store의 안전한 비공개 지불 시스템을 지원하지 않습니다." The app doesn't support the App Store's secure payment system. The text warns that subscription management, Family Sharing and refunds by Apple won't be available.

The flow itself must be:

• native, in the app, never in a web view;
• free of any hidden, dormant or undocumented payment feature;
• free of deceptive practices: otherwise, Apple removes the app and may kick you out of the program.

Ask your provider whether its payment module opens in a web view before you write a single line of code.

After launch: report, invoice and support

• A monthly sales report, through the form linked from Apple's page, within 15 calendar days after the end of Apple's fiscal month. Apple provides a sample report.
• An invoice to pay within 45 days after the end of the fiscal month.
• An audit right: Apple can check the accuracy of your reports.
• If you don't pay: Apple can offset against what it owes you in other countries, remove the app or kick you out of the program.
• Customer support is on you: Apple doesn't see these purchases, so it handles no refunds, no purchase history, no subscription management.

Where the Korean regulator stands

Reread on October 27, 2026. In 2023, Korea's telecom regulator, then the 방송통신위원회, announced planned sanctions against Apple and Google for forcing their payment systems. In 2025, a law replaced it with the 방송미디어통신위원회, according to Digital Daily. On October 12, 2026, its chairman expected a decision before the end of the month, according to SBS Biz. On October 27, the same outlet considered a final vote likely at the October 28 plenary meeting.

The same day, according to CBS Nocut News, one point was still being debated: whether to require Apple and Google to let apps tell their users about payment outside Apple's or Google's system, and point them to it. This is called an "anti-steering" obligation.

As of October 27, 2026, no decision had been issued: the rules described here are those on Apple's page as of that date. A sanction could change them, especially if it imposes that right to inform. Reread Apple's page and the Korean press before you file your request.

Should you build a Korean binary?

Your situation	My advice
Small Business Program member	Keep in-app purchase
Standard rate, fees above 1.3%	Keep in-app purchase
App already rated in Korea	Keep in-app purchase
Standard rate, fees below 1.3%	Redo the full calculation

For most indie developers, the answer is no. The possible gain is small, and only at the standard rate; the fixed costs, on the other hand, are certain. Your energy pays off better elsewhere: the right pricing model, covered in subscription or one-time purchase, and realistic app revenue, in how much a mobile app earns.

Frequently asked questions

What is Apple's commission for external payments in South Korea?

26% of the price paid by the user, VAT included. The payment provider's fees come on top, and you're the one who collects and remits taxes.

Which payment providers does Apple accept in Korea?

KCP, Inicis, Toss and NICE are already approved. You can propose another, but Apple has to vet it, which can delay your request or get it rejected. One provider per entitlement.

Can you offer in-app purchase and external payment in the same app in Korea?

No. The entitlement can't coexist with Apple's in-app purchase in the same app. You need a separate binary, distributed only in Korea.

Can you add external payment to an app that's already published?

No. The entitlement is only granted to a bundle ID that has never been published. If the new app is a version of your current app, sold in Korea through in-app purchase, remove the current one from the Korean storefront before the new one is approved.

Does the Small Business Program apply to Korean external payments?

Apple's Korea page publishes no reduced rate. The Small Business Program's 15% applies to in-app purchase. That's why in-app purchase costs a small developer less.

Can a foreign developer use external payment in Korea?

Apple's page doesn't require you to be established in Korea: it targets apps distributed only in Korea. But you become responsible for Korean taxes on those sales, whereas Apple remits them for you with in-app purchase if you're not a resident. Also ask the provider whether it accepts a merchant without a company in Korea.

Which Info.plist key do you need for external payment in Korea?

SKExternalPurchase, an array of strings with the South Korea code, kr according to the key's reference. The entitlement is com.apple.developer.storekit.external-purchase, a Boolean set to true.

Has the Korean regulator already sanctioned Apple?

Not as of October 27, 2026, the date of this review: no decision had been issued. According to SBS Biz, a final vote was then likely on October 28. Check the Korean press and Apple's page before deciding.

Sources

• Distributing apps using a third-party payment provider in South Korea, Apple Developer: conditions, providers, configuration, commission, reports. Korean version.
• App Store Small Business Program, Apple Developer: the 15% commission and its conditions.
• Apple Developer Program License Agreement, Schedule 2, section 3.4, and its Exhibits B and C: commission base and tax collection.
• SKExternalPurchase, External Purchase and presentNoticeSheet(), Apple documentation.
• App config, app variants and Expo Modules API, Expo documentation.
• SBS Biz, October 12, 2026 and October 27, 2026, and CBS Nocut News, October 27, 2026: timeline and stakes of the regulator's decision. Digital Daily, September 27, 2025: creation of the 방송미디어통신위원회.

Charge the right price for your app

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