Sommaire
Over the past fifteen years, the South Korean media landscape has undergone a profound transformation, marked by a strong concentration around a few large conglomerates from the telecommunications and audiovisual media sectors. Between the weight of historical players such as KBS, MBC and SBS, the rise of private groups such as CJ, and the digital domination of Naver, the Korean media ecosystem illustrates the complex articulation between traditional media and digital platforms.
The media landscape of recent years
Since the 2010s, the South Korean media landscape has been characterized by marked concentration, both on digital platforms and in traditional media. Four major groups dominate the sector: KT, SK Group, LG Group and KBS. The first three, which originated in the telecoms sector, have gradually become the dominant media platform operators. Alongside them, KBS remains the country’s leading public broadcaster, with a 15.4% share of the media content market. In 2011, these groups controlled almost three quarters of the national market. At the same time, Group CJ has established itself as a fast-growing player, particularly in the fields of entertainment, television, film and music.
On the audiovisual front, public channels such as MBC (문화방송) and SBS (서울방송) retain a notable place. Together with KBS, they would account for almost 79% of total industry revenues in 2022, testifying to the centrality of these three broadcasters within the Korean media landscape.
On the digital front, Naver (네이버) largely dominates the online search market. Although it is now facing a gradual erosion of its position in favor of Google, it remains the most widely used search engine in South Korea, far ahead of domestic rivals such as Daum Communications Group (다음).
As for the print media, the landscape remains relatively fragmented, but the three major conservative newspapers grouped under the name Chojoongdong (조중동 : Chosun, Joongang, Dong-a)1 remain in the lead, all of them coming from private, family-owned press groups. These three giants continue to play a major role in the South Korean media landscape.
Leading groups
Korea Telecom
KT (Korea Telecom, 한국통신) occupies a central position in the South Korean media landscape, where it is establishing itself as a key player through the strategic diversification of its activities. Historically a state monopoly2 in wireline telecommunications, KT retains dominance in this sector, with a 70% share of the market in the early 2010s. The group stands out in particular for its ability to extend its areas of influence: indeed, present in mobile telecommunications through the absorption of KTF, KT held almost a third of the wireless market in 2011, alongside SK Telecom (에스케이텔레콤) and LG U+ (엘지유플러스). In the Internet Service Provider (ISP) sector, it also remains market leader with a 43% share. Also, through its IPTV service (KT Olleh TV), it controls a substantial share of the pay-TV market, further consolidating its place among platform media. In 2011, KT was therefore the country’s leading platform media company, with 43.8% of the market, and held 35.7% of the overall national media market. Together with SK, LG and KBS, it formed the dominant quartet.
SK Group
SK Group (에스케이그룹, SK Telecom, SK Broadband) – second only to KT in the South Korean media landscape, SK Group has established itself as a major conglomerate through a similar diversification strategy. In 2011, it held 26.3% of the overall national media market and controlled 32.5% of the platform market. Its SK Telecom subsidiary dominates the mobile telecoms sector with over 50% market share, while SK Broadband holds a strong position in internet access (23.4% market share in 2011) and wireline telecoms. The group is also active in the audiovisual and online search engine sectors. Unlike conglomerates such as Samsung (삼성) and Hyundai (현대), which have disengaged from the sector, SK has taken advantage of deregulation policies3 to consolidate its place within the South Korean media landscape.
LG Group
LG Group (엘지그룹, LG U+, LG Dacom, LG Hanaro) – LG Group, via its subsidiary LG U+, is one of the four pillars of the South Korean media landscape alongside KT, SK and KBS. In 2011, it held 14.7% of the national platform market and an equivalent share of the overall media market, which has been growing since the mid-2000s. Active in wireline and wireless telecommunications, as well as in the ISP sector, LG consistently ranks third behind KT and SK. The Group is also present, albeit more modestly, in search engines and audiovisual media, confirming its place at the heart of the media ecosystem promoted by deregulation.
CJ Group
CJ Group (씨제이그룹, CJ Entertainment, CJ Hellovision) – CJ Group has established itself as a leading media conglomerate in South Korea, thanks in particular to a vertical integration strategy focused on content and audiovisual platforms. Active in cinema, pay-TV and music, CJ saw its share of the content media market rise from 3.9% to 7.4% between 2005 and 2011. Its subsidiary CJ Entertainment, integrated into CJ E&M, is one of the three leaders in South Korean cinema, while CJ Hellovision is one of the leading pay-TV operators. Through entities such as Mnet Media, the group is also extending its influence into music and video channels, fully embodying the figure of a modern, integrated multimedia conglomerate.
KBS
KBS (Korean Broadcasting System, 한국방송공사) – wholly owned and financed by the South Korean government, which distinguishes it from commercial audiovisual companies such as SBS or CJ, it was the main public service broadcaster before 19914. In 2011, KBS held the largest share of the television market, accounting for 37.3% of the sector’s sales.
Leaders in the audiovisual landscape
SBS
Alongside KBS, the Seoul Broadcasting System (서울방송, SBS, part of the SBS Media Holdings group), similarly occupies a consistent place in the audiovisual sector. In 2011, it held an 18.3% market share in broadcast television, positioning itself as a major commercial player against public broadcasters such as KBS (37.3%) and MBC (30.4%). In the national media content market, SBS accounted for 7.8% in 2011, equivalent to MBC (7.8%), but lower than KBS (15.4%). However, its presence in the overall national media market declined over the same period, from 2.2% in 2004-2005 to 1.5% in 2011, while its “Company Power Index” fell from 47 to 27.
MBC
Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (문화방송, MBC) differs from KBS and EBS (교육방송) in its funding model: unlike the latter, which are wholly owned and funded by the South Korean government, MBC is now funded by commercial advertising revenues. It is administered by two non-profit organizations: one holding 70% of shares, the other 30%. A telling example of MBC’s significant market clout is its record audience share in the 2025 presidential election, during which MBC achieved an average audience share of 10.73%, compared with 3.43% for KBS and 2.65% for SBS.
In the digital sector, search engine Naver (네이버) has historically dominated the South Korean market. In 2011, it held a 68.8% market share in terms of search volume, far outstripping its nearest domestic competitor, Daum (다음) (22.1%). Its success is based on a strategy focused on service localization, simplified user interfaces (UX), and enhanced content integration. Indeed, the latter is guaranteed by services such as Knowledge IN (지식iN), a knowledge exchange platform similar to Wikipedia, which already boasted 200 million entries produced by 15 million users, or Hangame (한게임)5, an online gaming portal.
Naver has gradually diversified its activities, integrating news, e-commerce and online gaming on its platform. Nevertheless, Naver’s position has recently been weakened: while its market share still reached 57.3% at the beginning of 2024, it dropped to 48.4% in April 2025, marking a significant erosion against Google (구글), which held 43.17% over the same period. This development highlights the rise of the American giant, notably through its artificial intelligence-assisted services, within a market long dominated by local players.
Last but not least, Naver’s parent company, NHN (Next Human Network), has also seen significant growth in the overall national media market, with its share rising from 0.3% in 2004-2005 to 1.9% in 2011.
Chojoongdong (조중동); the three press giants
A powerful trio from a private, family-owned, politically conservative media group, Chosun Ilbo (조선일보), Joongang Ilbo (중앙일보) and Dong-a Ilbo (동아일보) together accounted for 64.4% of the total market share in 2010, with the three dailies leading the press by a wide margin.
Chosun Ilbo
Chosun Ilbo (조선일보) – Owned by the Bang (방) family, it is the most influential of the three dailies grouped under the Chojoongdong (조중동) umbrella. In 2010, it held 24.3% of the total daily newspaper market, making it the country’s most important newspaper in terms of readership and influence.
Joongang Ilbo
Joongang Ilbo (중앙일보) – published by the Joongang Media Network Group (중앙미디어네트워크, JM net) and historically linked to the Samsung conglomerate (삼성) through the Hong family (홍), in 2010 it accounted for 21.8% of total market share among daily newspapers. However, its share of the overall national media market fell from 1.0% to 0.7% between 2005 and 2011, illustrating a relative decline against its competitors.
Dong-a Ilbo
Dong-a Ilbo (동아일보) – Held by Dong-a Media (동아미디어), owned by the Kim family (김), in 2010 it accounted for 18.3% of the total daily newspaper market. In addition to its role in the daily press, this group has also established itself as a major player in publishing, notably through the publication of magazines. In the national media content market, however, Dong-a Ilbo (동아일보) saw a decline from 4.4% in 2004/2005 to 3.1% in 2011.
These three dailies played a key role in the deregulation of the media sector in South Korea. Until 2010, strict regulations prohibited newspaper owners from owning shares in broadcast media. This restriction, along with a drop in advertising revenues for print media publishers, prompted the major media groups, including Chojoongdong (조중동), to exert strong pressure on the government. Through lobbying¹⁷, the latter campaigned for a relaxation of rules on media cross-ownership.
This mobilization led, in 2010, to a major reform enabling press groups to become players in the television sector, by obtaining licenses to launch their own cable channels. This deregulation grants press publishers the possibility of acquiring up to 20% of shares in broadcasting channels, with the aim of fostering the emergence of media conglomerates capable of competing on the international stage.
Sources
- Who Owns the World’s Media? Media Concentration and Ownership around the World, Eli M. Noam, The International Media Concentration Collaboration, 2016
- Search Engine Market Share Republic Of Korea, Statcounter, 2025
- Online search rate in S. Korea via Naver drops sharply over past 9 yrs: report, Yonhap news agency, 2024
Addenda
- Chojoongdong (조중동): the collective term for the three conservative dailies Chosun Ilbo, Joongang Ilbo and Dong-a Ilbo, which dominate the South Korean press. ↩︎
- State monopoly: situation in which a single company, controlled by the State, provides an entire service, in this case telecommunications before it was opened up to the private sector. ↩︎
- Deregulation: the process of reducing government restrictions on media cross-ownership and conglomerate activities. ↩︎
- Public service broadcasting: in South Korea, KBS was historically responsible for all public information and cultural broadcasting before the diversification of the media landscape. ↩︎
- Hangame (한게임): one of South Korea’s first online gaming platforms, founded in 1999. ↩︎
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