▲ People Power Party Representative Choi Hyung-du (Opposition Ranking Member of the National Assembly Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee)
Representative Choi Hyung-du (Masan Happo, South Gyeongsang Province), who serves as the People Power Party's ranking member on the National Assembly's Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee, pointed out on October 6, the first day of the parliamentary audit, that global platforms are evading cost burdens despite generating massive profits and revenues while virtually monopolizing internet traffic in the domestic digital market.
Choi's office stated, "An analysis of existing research and public data revealed that Global Platform A, which accounts for about 35% of South Korea's internet traffic, is evading an annual opportunity cost burden of more than 1.2268 trillion won, including network usage fees."
However, Choi's office explained, "This amount does not mean unpaid charges or evaded taxes, but is the office's own analytical figure combining estimates presented in existing studies and public data, including network usage fees, corporate taxes, in-app payment commissions, and contributions to the content industry."
● Global Platforms' Dominance of Domestic Traffic Continues to Expand
Citing data from the Ministry of Science and ICT, Representative Choi expressed concern over the reality that while global platforms continue to account for a high share of domestic internet traffic, they do not share the cost burden.
According to Choi's office, Google's share of South Korea's average daily internet traffic rose from 27.1% in 2021 to 28.6% in 2022, 30.6% in 2023, and 31.17% in 2024, and separately obtained data showed it expanded to 34.81% in 2025.
When including not only Google but also global platforms such as Netflix and Meta, the share of traffic generated by global operators on the domestic internet network approaches nearly half.
In fact, as of 2023, Google accounted for 30.6%, Netflix 6.9%, and Meta 5.1%, bringing the combined traffic share of just these three global platforms to 42.6%.
Representative Choi pointed out, "There is a need to comprehensively examine how much cost global platforms, which expand their business while generating enormous amounts of traffic across the domestic network, are bearing for South Korea's network and digital ecosystem."
● Controversy Over Evasion of Cost Burdens, Including Network Usage Fees, Taxes, and In-App Payments
The issue of network usage fees between global platforms and domestic telecommunications carriers has been controversial for years.
While domestic carriers continuously invest in expanding and maintaining networks to handle surging data traffic, the global platform companies that generate massive traffic evade the issue of cost sharing, leaving the matter largely to negotiations between individual operators.
In South Korea, there have also been ongoing estimates of network usage fees based on Google's share of traffic.
In 2025, an analysis estimated the network usage fee Google should have borne at approximately 214.7 billion to 347.9 billion won, based on Google's domestic traffic and the size of the dedicated internet line market.
● Discrepancy Between Domestic Revenue and Actual Scale of Economic Activity Must Also Be Examined
The gap between global platforms' reported domestic revenue and the actual scale of their economic activity in South Korea was also scrutinized during the parliamentary audit.
In the case of Google Korea, analyses have consistently suggested that, apart from the revenue stated in its audit reports, the actual scale of profit generated domestically could be much larger when considering its business structure in advertising, app store operations, and in-app payments.
Based on figures from various indicators over the past two years, the Korea Financial Management Association estimated Google Korea's 2023 domestic revenue at up to 12.135 trillion won and its corporate tax at up to 518 billion won.
● "In-App Payment Fees Lead to Domestic Burdens... Individual Agency Responses Are Not Enough"
The burden of in-app payment fees stemming from global app stores' high market share was also highlighted as a major issue facing the domestic content industry.
A past National Assembly analysis estimated that the additional fees borne by domestic content creators due to mandatory in-app purchases amounted to about 413.8 billion won.
Global platforms exert substantial influence over the distribution and consumption of domestic content through diverse services such as search, video, news, and music.
However, critics point out that while content is utilized as a core asset to generate users and advertising revenue for the platforms, the level of profit-sharing and industrial contribution to South Korea's media and content industries remains insufficiently identified.
Rep. Choi emphasized, "As global platforms generate substantial economic value through South Korea's content ecosystem, a societal discussion is needed on how they will contribute to the sustainability of the domestic content industry."
He added, "Currently, jurisdictions are fragmented, with network fees under the Ministry of Science and ICT, taxes under the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the National Tax Service, fair trade under the Fair Trade Commission, and personal information under the Personal Information Protection Commission. With global platforms' influence in South Korea continuously growing, responding through individual agencies alone has clear limits."
Rep. Choi emphasized, "The government must thoroughly verify analyses indicating that the annual opportunity cost paid by domestic industries for the business operations of a single global platform could reach 1.2268 trillion won. It should comprehensively review network usage fees, platform commissions, contributions to the content ecosystem, and domestic investments to establish principles for fair cost-sharing and contributions between domestic and global companies."
He also added, "This is not about blocking global platforms' entry into South Korea or halting innovation itself. While respecting the benefits domestic consumers and businesses gain through global platforms, we must not allow a structure where the costs arising from the network and content ecosystem are unilaterally placed on domestic companies and citizens."
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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