Seoul, South Korea - The South Korean parliament has passed a landmark bill that restricts the market power of tech giants Apple and Google by more closely regulating their app stores.

The act still needs to be signed into law by President Moon Jae In. Once that last hurdle is cleared, South Korea will become the first country to introduce major limits on in-app sales policies.

The law aims to generate more competition in the industry by preventing app marketplace operators like Google and Apple from imposing their payment systems for in-app purchases on software developers.

It also prohibits them from delaying the approval of apps or deleting them from their digital distribution platforms without good reason.

The relevant amendment to the Telecommunications Business Act was passed by the National Assembly in Seoul on Tuesday. The approach could serve as a model for similar legislative initiatives in other countries.

Analysts say Apple and Google's lucrative app businesses will take a hit if users can choose different payment systems.

Both companies have fought the legislation for months. According to the New York Times, the companies had also directly approached members of the South Korean parliament and government officials in order to try to block the legislation.

Apple argued that the South Korean law could undermine measures to protect users from fraudulent downloads and apps that don't meet store policies, an argument the company has used successfully in other cases, like the one in which Epic Games accused them of unfair App Store practices.