One Store Corp., an affiliate of SK Telecom, will be responsible for the operation, while Naver has invested 2.7 billion won ($2.3 million). KT and LG Uplus will pay some of their app sales as fees.

The companies said they aim to take on Apple and Google in the nation’s soaring mobile app market worth 4.5 trillion won.

Currently, Google Play Store makes up the largest 51.4 percent of app sales, followed by Apple’s App Store with 33.4 percent and other local services with a combined 12.8 percent, according to the Korea Mobile Internet Business Association.

Amid the dominance of Google and Apple, local services have received lukewarm response from Korean users. With Naver, the nation’s No. 1 portal, joining, they hope to elevate One Store’s market share to some 40 percent in the coming years.

Users can use One Store with their Naver IDs and pay for apps with Naver Pay, the mobile payments service. The extremely popular Naver search is also available within the app store.

“We expect business synergies among telecom carriers and Internet companies. All the benefits will go to consumers,” said a One Store official.

Industry watchers welcomed the creation of a Korea-made mega app store but were cautious about its success.

“Most app developers are providing their apps designed for Google Play and App Store, the two big markets. For them, there seem to be less benefits to make another one for One Store,” said an app developer on condition of anonymity.

“They need to offer incentives such as reducing fees drastically in order to attract more developers to join the platform.”

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