South Koreans spent over 25 trillion won on digital services including YouTube, Netflix, and ChatGPT last year, according to central bank data released Monday.
Payments to overseas digital service providers reached $17.33 billion (approximately 25.4 trillion won) in 2024, according to the Bank of Korea's 2025 balance of payments statistics. Based on South Korea's population of 51 million, this amounts to approximately 41,500 won per capita paid to foreign companies.
The figure includes subscriptions to streaming platforms such as Netflix and YouTube Premium, as well as artificial intelligence services and software subscriptions including ChatGPT.
Analysts note that payments to overseas digital platforms are denominated in U.S. dollars, contributing to exchange rate pressures and inflation.