Domestic Digital Platform Market Surpasses 161 Trillion Won; Naver, Kakao, ChatGPT Most Used

The domestic digital platform market has grown significantly to 161 trillion won. In 2024, domestic digital platform market revenue reached 161.5 trillion won, a 5.4% increase from the previous year, continuing its growth trend by accounting for 32.1% of total value-added telecommunication revenue. Total revenue for value-added telecommunication services increased by 15.3% year-on-year to 502.9 trillion won. According to data released by the Ministry of Science and ICT, this digital service usage pattern reflects changes in our daily lives. The survey targeted a population of 6,049 value-added telecommunication service providers, excluding companies with capital under 100 million won and those that have suspended or closed operations, and conducted a sample survey.

Businesses providing platform services accounted for over half, 52.7%, of the total with 765 companies. By business type, 'service provision' such as delivery and reservations was the largest category at 30.9%, followed by 'goods transactions' including e-commerce (27.1%) and 'content provision' like search and games (15.5%). Digital platform companies, which mediate between suppliers and demanders, predominantly adopted complex business models, with 75.2% operating two or more services.

The domestic value-added telecommunications industry showed a trend of technological advancement. A total of 62.2% of responding companies reported adopting and utilizing at least one digital new technology such as AI, big data, or cybersecurity. Difficulty in securing specialized personnel for the latest technologies was cited as the biggest obstacle to business expansion. Insufficient government support for industry promotion and the burden of high-cost infrastructure were also identified as major challenges. Overseas market entry was hampered by limitations in establishing local marketing and distribution networks, and acquiring information on local laws and systems.

A survey on platform usage experience over the past three months revealed that search portal usage was 98.7%, and messenger usage was 98.5%. Map/Place services (96.8%), e-commerce (95.6%), and video sharing (92.7%) also recorded usage rates exceeding 90%. In terms of daily service usage frequency, messengers ranked highest at 91.3%, followed by search portals at 85.8%.

In the 'No. 1 platform' rankings selected by users, Naver dominated the search portal market with a 67.5% preference. In the messenger category, KakaoTalk showed a preference of 92.5%. YouTube led the video sharing platform segment with 78.0% preference. Naver Maps took the lead in the Map/Place category with 50.7% preference, surpassing T map (23.5%). For delivery apps, Baemin (50.6%) ranked first, followed by Coupang Eats (29.5%).

Users cited 'long-term familiarity (habit)' and 'ease of operation (usability)' as the primary criteria for choosing a platform. For social media and messengers, the 'network effect' of people around them using the service was a key factor. In areas like app markets and generative AI, where the quantity and quality of information are crucial, the service's inherent quality dictated user choice.

The 'multi-homing' behavior, where users simultaneously use multiple platforms, was prominent in e-commerce (83.9%) and social media (79.9%) sectors. Shopping users concurrently used an average of 3.4 shopping apps to compare prices and benefits. While multi-homing and user churn ('conversion rate') were active in shopping (20.9%) and delivery (27.0%), the strongest defense against switching was 'membership subscriptions'. Responses indicating that users did not change their primary service due to regular membership benefits ranked high.

As many as 75.9% of respondents had experience using paid e-commerce memberships, with Coupang Wow and Naver Plus Membership leading the market. Coupang Wow subscribers cited 'integration with Coupang Eats (60%)' as a primary reason for joining, while Naver Plus subscribers pointed to 'combined OTT benefits (81%)'. A clear trend of users becoming established on a platform after subscribing to a paid membership was observed. The proportion of Coupang Wow members who reported using Coupang as their primary platform increased by 136.1% after subscribing. Similarly, for Naver Plus Membership, the proportion of users prioritizing Naver Shopping after subscribing increased by 99.4%.

In the generative AI sector, 60% of users responded that AI services could replace more than half of the functions of existing search portals. Trust in information and news from AI was higher (47.1%) than distrust (9.2%), with trust levels increasing among older age groups. Messengers served as the 'center of communication' (73.2%). In the content domain, a majority of video sharing platform users watched videos for over 2 hours daily, and 62.5% of respondents recognized that the platform's 'recommendation algorithm' contributed to prolonged viewing times.

In app markets, the rate of in-app purchases via external webpages was only 46.1%, and the intention to use external payments was below 50%, indicating slow adoption of alternative payment systems. However, 62.7% of Apple App Store users expressed willingness to use other app markets (sideloading) if such systems become active. For delivery platforms, the usage rate of public delivery apps reached 42.5%, with 80.5% of those who had used them expressing intent for re-use. Reviews and ratings (32.0%) were the key criteria for selecting restaurants within delivery apps. In the used goods market, complaints about 'unilateral transaction cancellations' (32.9%) were frequent, but consumers perceived the severity of harm to be much higher in cases of dealing in stolen goods or counterfeit products.

Through this survey, the Ministry of Science and ICT has empirically confirmed that giant digital platform companies are solidifying their market dominance based on memberships and advanced technologies. The ministry will continue to provide timely data analysis reflecting market trends to formulate effective policies for the vitalization of the value-added telecommunications market.