The nation’s antitrust watchdog said Tuesday that it had imposed punitive measures, including corrective orders and a combined 64 million won ($54,000) in fines, on 16 mobile game makers for their policies refusing refunds.

According to the Fair Trade Commission, companies have deliberately hidden from users their legal right to have unused cyber cash returned if the request is made within seven days of a purchase.

The game makers, including market leaders Nexen and NHN, however, stressed a no refund policy via their websites, pop-up windows and detailed contract clauses, the FTC said.

“There have been a proliferation of complaints over excessive mobile payments due to mobile games, especially from parents of young children,” said an FTC official.

“Compared to common mobile items, cyber cash has prompted more serious problems, as a large amount of money can be paid.”

The Korea Creative Contents Agency reported last year that the local mobile game market has grown into an industry worth 300 billion won. And companies earn more than 70 percent of their sales from in-app payments.

A father of an 8-year-old boy reported that he had to pay 200,000 won after his child played with his smartphone for just 20 minutes.

“It is extremely easy for young children to access mobile games. My son just touched a big fish photo on the phone and then 33,000 won was automatically paid,” he told a consumer advocacy group.

Amid the fast filtration of high-end phones here, the number of similar complaints has almost tripled to 2,443 cases in the first quarter of this year from 840 cases a year ago.

The FTC has already ordered 16 game companies to notify their receiving of punitive measures on the front page of their websites for four days, imposing 4 million won fines on each.

“The repayment system is aimed at the mobile game industry to follow related regulations already effective in the PC-based game market,” the FTC official said.

“In order to maximize the effectiveness, we have also decided to monitor mobile app stores that are not the direct subject of investigation.”

By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldcorp.com)