Google, which accounts for the highest share of domestic network traffic in South Korea, has been highlighted for not paying any network usage fees in the country.
On Oct. 26, Kim Byung-wook, a member of the National Assembly’s Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee from the People Power Party, pointed out, “Google’s share of domestic network traffic stands at 28.6%, making it the leading foreign company in this respect, yet the network fees Google pays is ‘0 won’.”
According to data received by Kim from the Ministry of Science and ICT, Google led foreign companies with a 28.6% share of domestic network traffic. They were followed by Netflix (5.5%), Meta (formerly Facebook, 4.3%), Amazon (3.2%), and Apple (0.3%). All other entities combined accounted for 6.9%. When viewed in relation to domestic network traffic, Google’s share is more than five times greater than that of Netflix, which ranks second.
Based on the “First Half of 2023 Mobile App Usage Report” released in July by real-time data-based market analysis company WiseApp Retail Goods, an average of 46.08 million Koreans use YouTube a total of 12.6 billion times, amounting to 971 billion minutes each month. Given the significant influence of YouTube, it is no surprise that Google holds such a considerable portion of domestic traffic. However, Google is the only foreign company to not pay any network usage fees in South Korea.
Kim Byung-wook criticized, “The fact that Google pays network fees in the U.S. and Europe but not in our country is treating South Korea as an easy target.”
Kim further commented, “The consequences of Google’s dominant behavior ultimately burden our citizens, the consumers, and local companies also face discrimination.” He emphasized, “Legal measures should urgently be sought to ensure Google pays a fair price for its network usage.”