title: Korean app store & publishing requirements applies_to: [korean-market, ios, android, app-store-connect, google-play, onestore] version: 1.0.0 last_updated: 2026-05 stability: stable

Korean app store & publishing requirements¶

What designers need to know to ship into the Korean market without rejections or last-minute scrambles. This is a pre-flight checklist, not legal advice.

The three Korean stores¶

Store	Why it exists	Designer impact
App Store (iOS)	Required for iPhone	Korean metadata in App Store Connect; KCC age rating
Google Play Korea	Default for Android	Korean store listing, KOPECO age rating, in-app permission disclosure popup
ONE store (원스토어)	KT/SKT/LG U+ joint platform; required for some carrier promotions and game/finance categories	Separate store listing, separate APK, separate review queue

Most consumer apps publish to App Store + Google Play. Games + finance + telecom-bundled apps add ONE store.

Mandatory metadata (Korean store listings)¶

Names and descriptions¶

App name: ≤ 30 characters Korean. Trademark-safe (Korea's trademark database is hostile to generic English names).
Subtitle / Promo text: must be in Korean.
Description: write Korean-native, not machine-translated. Include 5–7 keywords naturally for App Store search.

Screenshots¶

Spec	iPhone 6.5" / 6.7" / 6.9"	Android
Resolution	1290×2796, 1284×2778, 1242×2688	1080×1920+
Count	3–10, first 3 are critical (visible without scroll)	2–8
Korean text	Required. Translated screenshots only — do not ship English-text screenshots to Korean storefront.
Density	High — Korean stores expect 50–70% of screen area to be feature copy + UI, not blank backgrounds.

Korean screenshot conventions: - Bold, high-contrast typography. - 1–2 lines of bold benefit copy per screenshot. - App UI partially shown (cropped) under the copy. - Often with a phone-frame mockup.

App icon¶

1024×1024 master.
Test at 60×60 — Korean store grids are dense; the icon must read at thumbnail size.
Hangul "글자" inside icon is acceptable and common (e.g., 토스 = "T", 카카오톡 = "톡"). Use only when the brand is the letter.
Avoid: photos, gradients with text overlay, complex illustrations.

Age ratings (필수)¶

iOS — App Store Connect¶

Standard 4+ / 9+ / 12+ / 17+ ratings apply.
Korea also enforces the GRAC (게임물관리위원회) rating for games specifically. If your app is categorized as a game, it must have a separate Korean GRAC rating displayed.

Android — Google Play¶

Uses KOPECO (한국게임정책자율기구) rating for games or KMRB (영상물등급위원회) for video content.
Non-game apps use Google's standard IARC rating.

For games: - Get the GRAC rating before submission. The number must appear in the listing. - Categories: 전체이용가 (All), 12세이용가, 15세이용가, 청소년이용불가 (18+).

In-app required disclosures¶

Korean law and store policy require these to be in-app, not just in store:

Privacy¶

Privacy policy link in app settings or sign-up flow, not just the store listing.
개인정보처리방침 (privacy policy) must be Korean and disclose: data types collected, purpose, retention period, third-party sharing.

Terms¶

이용약관 must be agreed at sign-up via a checkbox. Can be a single combined agreement, but marketing consent must be a separate, opt-in checkbox.

Permissions (Android, Google Play Korea-specific)¶

Before requesting any sensitive permission (location, camera, mic, contacts, storage), show an in-app dialog explaining:
Which permission is being requested.
Why it's needed for which feature.
Whether it's required vs optional.
This is in addition to the OS prompt. Google Play Korea will reject without this in-app disclosure.

Subscriptions / IAP¶

Show price in ₩ before purchase.
Show recurring schedule (월 / 연 / 회).
Show cancellation method explicitly: "구독은 [iOS Settings / Google Play] 에서 해지할 수 있습니다."

Common rejection reasons (App Store, KR)¶

Missing Korean screenshots — English screenshots in Korean storefront.
Missing Korean privacy policy URL — must resolve to a Korean-language page.
Permission requested without in-app explanation — Apple's "Why does your app need this?" string is per-permission and must be Korean.
Login required to demo without test credentials — provide test account for review team.
Subscription without restore-purchase — required for paid apps.
External payment links — apps targeting Korea got an exemption (2023+) but still must use approved alternative-payment flow if not using Apple IAP.

Common rejection reasons (Google Play, KR)¶

No in-app permission explanation popup before requesting sensitive permissions.
Sensitive content without age gate — even text/article apps with adult content need explicit age verification.
Misleading screenshots — Korean store reviewers check screenshots match actual UI more strictly than US.
Inadequate Korean translation — partial Korean (some screens English, some Korean) is grounds for rejection.

ONE store specifics (원스토어)¶

If publishing to ONE store: - Separate APK signing (different signing key allowed; many devs use the same as Play). - Separate app icon (same asset acceptable). - ONE store has its own in-app billing SDK — separate from Google Play Billing. - Smaller share of market but required for some carrier-bundled placements. - Approval queue is 5–7 business days; typically less strict than Google Play KR.

Localization reminders¶

Currency: ₩ everywhere. Localize prices for KRW market — $1.99 → ₩2,500 (round to natural Korean price tiers, not direct conversion).
Date / time: Korea Standard Time (KST, UTC+9). No DST.
Phone: 010-####-####.
Address: Daum Postcode API for forms.
Customer service: business hours stated on contact pages, in KST.