2 0 1 4 Y E A R B O O K
The Korea Press
Publisher Kim Byungho Editor in Chief Kim Sungsoo
Managing Editor Lee Sangki Tel 82-2-2001-7753 Email
[email protected]
Translated by Yang Sungjin(Editor of the National Desk at The Korea
Herald) Copyedited by Elaine Ramirez(Copy Editor at The Korea
Herald) Chung Yongkuk(Professor, Dept. of Journalism & Mass
Communication, Dongguk Univ.)
Published by Korea Press Foundation www.kpf.or.kr
Korea Press Foundation 12-15F., Korea Press Center 124
Sejong-daero, Jung-gu, Seoul, Korea
First Edition December 2014 Copyright © 2014 by Korea Press
Foundation
Designed by Nine Communication
Chapter 2. Media Market … 22
Chapter 3. Media Workers … 30
Chapter 4. Print Newspaper Market … 40
Chapter 5. Broadcasting Market … 44
Chapter 6. Internet Newspaper Market … 56
Chapter 7. Media Audience : Pattern and Evaluation … 62
Chapter 8. Current Situation of Newspaper Industry Support …
74
Appendix 1. Overseas Branches of the Korean Media … 76
Appendix 2. Korean Correspondents Overseas … 78
Appendix 3. Foreign Correspondents in Korea … 83
Appendix 4. Directory … 90
Chapter 1
Increasing News Consumption on Mobile Internet
According to the 2013 Audience Research Re- port published by the
Korea Press Foundation, the number of people reading the print
versions of newspapers declined, but the combined news- paper
readership of both the print and online versions stood at 76.4
percent. This figure means that 76.4 percent of South Korea’s news
consum- ers read news articles through either the print version or
the websites run by media companies.
The combined readership has remained large- ly unchanged in the
past three years (76.5 per- cent in 2011, 77.6 percent in 2012 and
76.4 per- cent in 2013). The underlying significance of the
readership figure, however, should be examined against the backdrop
of a shrinking subscriber base of print newspapers. The survey on
which platforms respondents used to read news in the past seven
days indicates that the number of print newspaper readers went
down, but the number of Internet-based newspaper readers went
up.
The 2013 survey, for instance, showed that 11.0 percent of
participants said they read only print newspapers in the past week,
down from 19.4 percent in 2011 and 14.6 percent in 2012.
Last year, 42.6 percent of survey participants visited the print
newspapers’ websites to read their online news, marking a solid
increase from 28.1 percent in 2011 and 36.6 percent in 2012. These
results suggest that the overall newspaper reader base remains
little changed, but a growing number of readers are adopting the
Internet as a key outlet to read news.
More noticeable is the change of routes that people use to read
online news. According to the survey results on which platforms
people use to read news provided by newspaper companies, mobile
devices (smartphones, tablet PCs) ac- counted for 55.3 percent,
outpacing fixed devices (desktop and laptop computers), whose share
was 50.7 percent. The mobile device proportion jumped by 35.8
percentage points and 7.9 per- centage points from 2011 and 2012,
respectively, while the fixed device ratio went down by 0.8
percentage point and 6.7 percentage points dur- ing the cited
period.
Print Newspaper Readership Rate Drops; Top Three Papers Control
More than 50 Percent of Market Share
The subscription and readership rates of print newspapers continued
to decline in 2013, and the shrinking pace of the newspaper
readership rate
5
was more noticeable (2013 Audience Research Report published by the
Korea Press Founda- tion, 2013). The newspaper subscription rate
stood at 20.4 percent in 2013, down 4.3 percent- age points from a
year earlier. The newspaper readership rate, meanwhile, dropped at
a faster clip, logging 33.8 percent in 2013, a decrease of 7.1
percentage points from 2012. Sex, age and income turned out to be
key factors linked to the newspaper subscription and readership
rates. Print newspaper readers tend to be male, older, wealthier
and politically conservative. The only exception was that the
newspaper subscription and readership rates of those in their 60s
were lower than the figures of those in their 40s and 50s.
In a survey on the 2013 share of readership, Chosun Ilbo topped the
rankings with 22.0 per- cent, followed by JoongAng Ilbo (14.8
percent), Dong-A Ilbo (13.4 percent), Maeil Business Newspaper (4.7
percent), Hankyoreh (4.0 per- cent), Kyunghyang Daily News (3.9
percent), Hankook Ilbo (2.5 percent), Kukmin Daily (2.5 percent),
Busan Ilbo (2.4 percent) and IS Ilgan Sports (2.3 percent). The
so-called Big Three -- Chosun, JoongAng and Dong-A -- retained
their leadership with their combined share surpassing 50
percent.
Newspapers’ Influence on Public Opinion Lags Far Behind TV and the
Internet
The 2013 Audience Research Report also at- tempted to identify the
influence of newspapers by asking respondents which media they rely
on and are influenced by to get information about and make value
judgments on political, eco- nomic and social agendas as well as
daily issues.
The results showed that the influence of print newspapers came in
at 13.9 percent. But there were stark differences among age groups.
For those in their 30s and younger, print newspapers lagged behind
broadcast and the Internet. But for those in their 50s, newspapers
carved up a respectable 19.7 percent share while the Internet
accounted for 21.1 percent. For those in their 60s, newspapers were
the dominant player with a 17.5 percent share, outpacing the
Internet (8.8 percent) by a wide margin.
As for the media’s impact on shaping public opinions, newspapers
ranked third after broad- cast and the Internet. Among respondents,
56.6 percent said newspapers exercise a “very strong impact” and
“largely noticeable impact,” while the figures for broadcast and
the Internet were at 92.8 percent and 67.1 percent, respectively.
On a scale of 1 to 5, newspapers got 3.54 points, lower than
broadcast (4.46 points), mobile Internet (3.73 points) and fixed
Internet (3.70 points).
Newspaper Revenues Down in Both 2012 and 2013
As of Dec. 31, 2012, among the media registered with local
government and agencies, the number of print newspapers and
Internet newspapers which publish their news regularly stood at
1,418 and 1,806, respectively. The Korea Press Foun- dation
published the 2013 Annual Reports on Newspaper Industry based on a
survey on 1,028 print newspapers and 1,082 Internet newspapers
between June 19 and Aug. 30, 2013. The survey results show that the
combined revenue of news- papers reached 3.7 trillion won in 2012,
down 6.5 percent from 2011.
The newspaper revenues were divided into five major categories. The
advertisement revenue
6 Chapter1. 2013/2014 Korean Media Overview
of print newspapers made up the biggest share of 48.8 percent (57.2
percent for daily newspapers and 46.9 percent for weekly
newspapers), fol- lowed by value-added and additional business
(24.3 percent), print newspaper sales (17.7 per- cent), Internet
advertising revenue (7.1 percent), Internet content revenue (1.6
percent) and Inter- net content resale revenue (0.5 percent).
Meanwhile, 35 print newspapers, which sub- mit their audit reports
to the Financial Supervi- sory Service, generated a combined
revenue of 2.4 trillion won in 2013, down 4.2 percent from 2012.
During the cited period, the revenues of national, sports and free
newspapers went down by 4.16 percentage points, 27.97 percentage
points and 49.18 percentage points, respectively. In contrast,
regional newspapers saw their rev- enues edge up by 2.0 percentage
points. Busi- ness and IT newspapers also witnessed a slight
increase in revenue by 0.86 percentage point and 0.14 percentage
point.
Changes in Journalism: Crowdsourcing and Collaborative
Journalism
• Crowdsourcing Journalism
Crowdsourcing is a portmanteau of “crowd” and “outsourcing.” This
term refers to the process of obtaining needed information and
knowledge by soliciting contributions from a large group of people.
In recent years, crowdsourcing jour- nalism is getting more
attention in the media industry as it utilizes the power of
“collective intelligence.” Crowdsourcing journalism gained momentum
on the strength of fast-expanding social media and the rapid
penetration of smart- phones. It is now evolving into an open-type
journalism in which citizens are encouraged to
actively contribute to the production of news, going beyond the
stage of suggesting story ideas.
South Korea’s representative crowdsourcing journalism has been
spearheaded by Hankyoreh. Hankyoreh kicked off a project aimed at
retriev- ing the hidden assets of former president Chun Doo-hwan.
With the legal deadline approaching, the newspaper attempted to
discover Chun’s hid- den assets that should be returned to the
national coffers. On May 20, 2013, Hankyoreh started the “Don’t
forget Chun Doo-hwan Dictionary 1.0” and provided a list of names
of people in- volved in the formation of Chun’s slush funds,
together with other lists including the names of his relatives and
catalogue of assets and golf clubs he allegedly runs. In addition,
Newstapa launched a tax safe haven project with the Inter- national
Consortium of Investigative Journalists in 2013, showcasing the
advantages of crowd- sourcing.
• Collaborative Journalism
JoongAng Ilbo and Hankyoreh started a new section called “Into the
Editorial” on May 21, 2013, comparing and contrasting their
editori- als. This weekly section, which is published every Tuesday
in both papers, marked the first- ever collaborative attempt by
Korean media. The collaborative section provides two editori- als
from JoongAng and Hankyoreh on a single topic, offering a venue in
which young readers can compare the different views and discuss the
issue in order to get a balanced perspective. Instead of staff
reporters, four media education specialists and high school
teachers recom- mended by JoongAng and Hankyoreh oversee the
section, providing their views on the edito- rial content.
7
• Collaborative Digital Storytelling
In a departure from the traditional text-based descriptions in the
news, more media compa- nies are producing convergence online
content in which multimedia -- photos, videos and infographics --
are put together. Collabora- tive digital storytelling is also
getting positive reviews as it marks a fresh endeavor toward
advancing journalism. For instance, Kyunghy- ang Daily News
produced “His Fingertip,” a collaborative project among 10 staff
members from the Digital News, Newsroom, Design and Media Strategy
departments. Over a period of three months, the members created
multimedia news featuring the interference of the National
Intelligence Service in the presidential election. Published on
Kyunghyang’s homepage on Jan. 22, 2014, the multimedia news report
attracted 60,000 views even with a running time of more than 10
minutes.
Maeil Business Newspaper produced two multimedia news items in
early 2014: “My Name is Invincible” in January and “My Love Stone”
in February. The first multimedia news concerns the country’s top
racing horse, while the second story portrays how five female ath-
letes managed to make it to the Olympic Games in the lesser known
sport of curling. “My Love Stone” combines a long-form feature
article with nine videos, 18 photos and 10 infographics in an
experimental manner. The project won the Monthly Reporter’s Award
from the Journalists Association of Korea.
Shutdown of Free Newspapers
In May 2002, Metro debuted as the first free- of-charge newspaper
in South Korea, herald-
ing a new era. But the free newspaper industry recently faced a
make-or-break period. Daily Focus, which competed with Metro to
lead the free newspaper market, once published 300,000 copies
daily. But Daily Focus suspended its op- eration indefinitely on
April 30, 2014. AM7, an- other free newspaper published by Munhwa
Ilbo, suspended its operation on April 1, 2013. City Newspaper, a
free evening paper, was shuttered on May 24, 2013. After Sports
Hankook, a free sports paper, went bankrupt, its staff reporters
founded Hankook Sports as a free paper but soon after turned it
into a paid newspaper.
The downfall of free newspapers stems from three reasons. First,
the spread of smartphones exposed more readers to Internet-based
news. According to the 2013 Audience Research report, the number of
print newspaper readers continues to go down, but the combined
readership rate of news available in print newspapers and their
online versions has remained little changed over the past three
years. This result suggests that newspaper readers are now using
the Internet to read news rather than the print version.
Second, the shrinking pool of print newspa- per readers led to a
drop in advertising revenue. In 2012, free newspapers saw their
combined revenue plunging 35.1 percentage points year on year.
Their net profit plummeted by 70.73 percentage points during the
cited period. Third, free newspapers failed to provide
differentiated news content in the race against mobile news
available on major portal sites. As the majority of news items in
free newspapers came from news agencies or their parent companies,
readers did not regard their content as unique. Providing news
customized for mobile news readers was key to staying
competitive.
8 Chapter1. 2013/2014 Korean Media Overview
• Broadcasting
Third Leadership Launched at KCC and KOCSC
On April 8, 2014, Choi Sung-joon, who had worked in the legal
field, was appointed as the chief of the Korea Communications
Commis- sion (KCC). On June 17, Park Hyo-jong was confirmed as the
head of the Korea Communica- tions Standards Commission (KOCSC).
The two appointments marked the third leadership of the two major
regulatory body governing broadcast and telecom industries. Article
No. 3 and 18 of the Bill on the Establishment of the KCC speci- fy
the rules related to the operations of the KCC and the KOCSC. The
terms for the top posts of the two organizations are three years.
Since the KCC’s foundation in 2008, the first leadership lasted
through 2010, and the second continued until 2013. The third
leadership is set to run through 2016. Four people were appointed
to the KCC’s standing committee: Hur Won-jae, Kim Jae-hong, Lee
Ki-ju and Koh Sam-seok. The third leadership of the KCC drew up a
vision called “Promoting Fair and Creative Broadcast- Telecom
Environment” and its policy objectives include nurturing fair and
trustworthy broadcast, supporting the creative economy in the era
of broadcast-telecom convergences, and setting up broadcast-telecom
environments devoted to promoting people’s happiness. But the KCC’s
position changed dramatically as its authority and functions were
transferred to the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning, a
state agency newly created under the Park Geun-hye
government.
Walkout and Sacking of President at KBS
The deadly sinking of the Sewol ferry on April 16, 2014, left the
nation in shock and sadness. The tragic accident also eventually
led to a management shakeup for the public broadcaster KBS. Kim
Si-gon, chief of the KBS newsroom, resigned after he caused a
public uproar by al- legedly comparing the number of casualties of
the Sewol tragedy with annual traffic fatalities. Kim also revealed
that KBS president Gil Hwan- young undermined the newsroom’s
indepen- dence and that Cheong Wa Dae interfered with the station’s
news coverage of the sinking of the Sewol ferry. Following Kim’s
claims, KBS’ two labor unions -- KBS Labor Union and KBS New Labor
Union – launched a labor strike on May 19 by refusing to produce
programs while calling for the resignation of Gil Hwan-young. The
two labor groups went on a full-fledged walkout at 5 a.m. on May
29. The two labor unions account for 80 percent of all KBS
employees, and the simultaneous walkouts by both groups was the
first since 2009 when the KBS labor union split into two.
The walkout lasted for 19 days, disrupting even the coverage of the
June 4 local elections as well as daily news. On May 28, the board
of directors at KBS held an emergency meeting and discussed whether
KBS president Gil Hwan- young should be removed from his post. The
board members squabbled over the issue for nine hours but failed to
reach a conclusion, which resulted in a delay of voting on Gil’s
status. On June 5, the board members finally voted 7-4 to dismiss
Gil. As the board of directors moved to fire Gil, the KBS labor
unions expressed their support and pledged to return to the
newsroom
9
immediately. The board of directors submitted its decision on Gil
to President Park Geun-hye through the Ministry of Security and
Public Ad- ministration on June 9. President Park confirmed Gil’s
dismissal on June 10.
Incorrect Broadcast Reports on Sewol Tragedy and Problems with
Disaster Coverage
South Korea’s major broadcasters aired a number of false reports on
the Sewol tragedy. The first breaking news announcement on the
morning of April 16, 2014, was positive: All the students and
teachers aboard the ferry Sewol were rescued. But it was just the
beginning of a long list of bla- tantly incorrect news reports. At
2 p.m. the Cen- tral Disaster Countermeasure Headquarters said that
368 people -- out of 477 passengers aboard the ferry -- were
rescued, and all news media put out reports based on the agency’s
erroneous an- nouncement without checking facts. Even KBS, which is
required to take a leading role in disas- ter coverage, aired an
incorrect report at 10:47 a.m., saying that “all the passengers got
out of the ferry and rescue tools were thrown in to rescue them.”
On July 2, the Korea Communica- tions Standards Commission issued a
warning to all nine broadcasters (three terrestrial broadcast- ers,
four comprehensive programming channels and two news channels) for
having aired the false report that all the students of Danwon High
School were rescued.
The KCC said it would consider revoking or reviewing the licenses
of broadcasters if they produced inaccurate or sensational reports
on disasters. Advanced countries such as the U.S., U.K., Japan and
Germany have established a set of journalism guidelines on covering
major
disasters as part of efforts to set up a crisis man- agement
system. In South Korea, KBS is the chief broadcaster for reporting
on such disasters under the related law, and there is also a manual
on reporting disasters. But there are no detailed guidelines that
broadcasters and journalists can follow, media scholars argued, and
a host of seminars were held to discuss the absence of such
instructions.
Comprehensive Programming and News Channels Secure Renewed
Licenses
On July 9, 2013, the Korea Communications Commission unveiled the
results of its inspection of the 2012 business plans submitted by
compre- hensive programming and news channels. The KCC took a close
look at whether the compre- hensive programming channels maintained
the required ratio of in-house to outsourced programs and
implemented seven major business plans.
The inspection showed that comprehensive programming channels did
not fully implement their plans in three areas: plans to ensure
broad- casters’ public responsibility, enhance fairness and serve
public interest; plans to contribute to the local broadcast
equipment industry and R&D; and plans to promote and support
the con- tent industry. Most comprehensive programming
7 major business plans of comprehen- sive programming
channels
Plans to ensure broadcasters’ public responsibility, enhance
fairness and serve the public interest Plans to contribute to the
local broadcast equipment industry and R&D Plans to promote and
support the content industry Plans to promote balanced regional
development Plans to support minority viewers Plans to ensure fair
trade of content Plans to kick- start the paid broadcast
market
10 Chapter1. 2013/2014 Korean Media Overview
channels followed the rules for the ratio of in- house to
outsourced programs, but TV Chosun failed to meet the condition in
the second half of 2012 as its outsourced programs made up 32.3
percent, stopping short of the target of plus-35 percent.
Meanwhile, the KCC held a plenary meeting on March 19, 2014 and
confirmed three-year extensions of licenses for TV Chosun, JTBC and
Yonhap News TV, whose licenses were to expire on March 31, and
Channel A, whose license was to expire on April 21. According to
the results of the license reviews, the four broadcasters received
more than the cutoff of 650 points out of the total 1,000 points.
None of them failed in specific areas. However, during the review,
KCC commissioners, appointed on the recommenda- tion of the
opposition party, stormed out of the meeting in protest, so the
votes were cast only by the commissioners appointed on the
recommen- dation of the ruling party.
Special Act on ICT and News Ser- vices Launched
On Aug. 13, 2013, the National Assembly leg- islated the Special
Act on the vitalization of the promotion and convergence of the ICT
industry (Special Act on ICT, No. 12032) in order to nur- ture the
convergence services of broadcast and telecom. The law went into
effect on Feb. 14, 2014.
With the legislation of the Special Act on ICT, many ICT
convergence technology and service projects found second chances
after a long delay due to ambiguous legal restrictions or the ab-
sence of related laws. The Ministry of Science, ICT and Future
Planning announced that new services would be, in principle,
allowed under
the system. Once a service provider requested a temporary business
permit for a new technology or service, the ministry would issue
the permit, with a duration of 1-2 years, as part of a compre-
hensive service. According to the Special Act on ICT, the ministry
finalized and made public the fast-track procedure and temporary
permit issu- ance rules on Aug. 1, 2014.
Digital Conversion of Cable TV and Permit for 8VSB
In December 2012, terrestrial TV broadcast was fully converted from
analogue to digital. With terrestrial TV’s transition complete,
policymak- ers pushed for the digital conversion of cable TV as an
important agenda. As of May 2013, the number of cable TV
subscribers -- both ana- logue and digital -- reached 14.83
million. The proportion of analogue service users accounted for
54.7 percent (8.11 million) and the figure for digital service
users came in at 45.3 percent (6.72 million). The Ministry of
Science, ICT and Future Planning allowed cable operators to use
8VSB (eight-level vestigial sideband) to speed up the digital
conversion. The spectrum, which had been used by terrestrial
broadcasters, was allowed for cable operators because it could help
analogue cable users to shift to the digital format without
additional costs -- a benefit that could enhance the welfare of
viewers and accelerate the digital conversion.
Clear QAM service, which allows for the viewing of digital TV
without the installation of a set-top box, was launched in
September 2013. Digital cable broadcast originally required a set-
top box to decode QAM signals, but a digital TV customized for
low-income viewers has a built-in set-top box for receiving QAM
signals.
11
Therefore, viewers can watch digital cable TV programs by simply
connecting the cable lines to their TV sets.
Sangam Digital Media City Emerges as Broadcast Hub
Major terrestrial broadcaster SBS and cable channel operator CJ
E&M earlier moved to Sangam-dong, Seoul. In August 2014,
terrestrial broadcaster MBC also moved its headquarters to
Sangam-dong, heralding the emergence of Sang- am Digital Media City
as a new broadcasting hub. As massive broadcast facilities were
built in Sangam-dong and Ilsan, outside of Seoul, the era of
Yeouido, which used to host all the major broadcasters, drew to a
close.
On December 6, 2013, Bitmaru Broadcasting Center was built in
Ilsan. The center, equipped with top-notch broadcasting facilities
and space, is designed to help small and medium-sized program
providers and independent production houses to create content as
full-fledged digital broadcasting got off to a start.
The Korea Communications Agency, affili- ated with the Ministry of
Science, ICT and Fu- ture Planning, runs Bitmaru Broadcasting
Center jointly with the Korea Creative Content Agency, under the
Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tour- ism. Established on a site of
10,702 square me- ters, the 20-story building plus four underground
floors provide broadcasting facilities (floors 1-8) as well as
commercial office space (floors 9-20).
Kukmin TV Starts Service but Re- structures Programs over Staff
Shortage
Kukmin TV, a media cooperative, aired its first
program on April 1, 2014, kicking off its 50-min- ute daily news
program “News K.” It featured 10-hour special coverage on the
sinking of the Sewol ferry and put out a scoop on a controver- sial
comment made by Prime Minister nominee Moon Chang-keuk. Despite the
public attention it received, Kukmin TV had to slim down its
program after three months of operation as pro- ducers had to do
all the work from news report- ing to video editing without support
staff such as assistant directors and floor directors.
• Internet News Industry
Data on Registered Internet News- papers
Article No. 2 of the Act on the Promotion of Newspapers, etc.
defines “internet newspaper.” Table 1 shows the number of
registered internet newspapers with the total number of registered
periodicals in South Korea. The number of registered internet
newspapers was just 286 in late 2005, or 3.8 percent of 7,536
registered periodicals. In the following years, the internet
newspaper market expanded at a rapid pace. At the end of 2013, the
number of registered inter- net newspapers surged to 4,916, marking
a 17- fold increase over eight years. The proportion of internet
newspapers also climbed each year to stand at 30.6 percent at the
end of 2013.
Introduction of Multimedia, Interac- tive News
South Korea’s media industry began to adopt so-called “Snow Fall
journalism,” a multimedia-
12 Chapter1. 2013/2014 Korean Media Overview
rich storytelling method pioneered by the New York Times. The U.S.
newspaper won the Pu- litzer Prize with a feature titled “Snow
Fall” in April 2013, drawing keen interest from around the world.
The Guardian produced a similarly multimedia-oriented project named
“Firestorm” and the Washington Post also jumped into the fray with
“The Prophets of Oak Ridge.” A major Japanese newspaper, Asahi
Shimbun, tried out the multimedia format with a story titled “Last
Dance,” and many other media outlets across the world have dabbled
in features modeled af- ter “Snow Fall.”
In South Korea, a host of multimedia projects have hit the
Internet: “The Island, Pagoda,” from Asia Economic Daily, which won
the Monthly Reporter’s Award from the Journalists Associa- tion of
Korea; “Hullabaloo Choir” from Chosun Ilbo; “Respond 7452” from
SisaIN; “My Name is Invincible” from Maeil Business Newspaper; “His
Fingertip” from Kyunghyang Daily News; and “Tragedy of Notebook
Personnel Choices” from Hankyoreh.
The features are often called “multimedia interactive news,” but
there is no clear definition yet. The stories, however, share a
combination of different media formats such as text, photos,
graphics, sound, animation and video. News media companies that
struggled to develop killer content are now exploring new
possibilities through the multimedia interactive news.
So far, innovation in South Korea’s journal- ism sector has
revolved around platforms based on new technologies. Against this
backdrop, multimedia interactive news can be deemed as a fresh
attempt to offer new, creative content. The number of media
companies producing such multimedia interactive news is on the
rise; more multimedia-rich news means the evolution of the
country’s online news content is gaining mo- mentum.
Experiments with Paid Online News Content
From very early on, Internet news media outlets were keen to get
readers to pay fees to read their content. For individual Internet
news media, set- ting up a paid news content service goes beyond
the simple attempt to generate more profits. In fact, running a
successful paid content service is the ultimate business goal
facing the segment. Several newspapers have already tried to intro-
duce paid news content services. In September 2013, Maeil Business
Newspaper launched Maeil e-Newspaper, taking the lead in the na-
scent paid news service market. Other news- papers quickly followed
suit. Korea Economic Daily kick-started Hankyung PLUS, Chosun Ilbo
unveiled Premium Chosun and Naeil Shin- mun rolled out e-Naeil
Shinmun.
Maeil Business Newspaper ’s Maeil e-
Registration Data of Internet Newspapers
Category 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Periodicals (number) 7,536 8,551 9,479 9,652 12,961 12,081 13,268
14,563 16,042
Internet newspapers (number) 286 626 927 1,282 1,698 2,484 3,193
3,914 4,916
Ratio (percent) 3.8 7.3 9.8 13.3 13.1 20.6 24.1 26.9 30.6
Source: e-Nara Index
13
Newspaper offers the option of reading the print version on digital
platforms, while allowing sub- scribers to save articles. The
service is available on different devices such as desktop PCs,
smart- phones and tablet computers. Other services in- clude
behind-the-scenes stories, special reports, trend-based news,
various indexes, investment data, earnings and corporate data on
Korean companies. Korea Economic Daily provides a set of similar
premium services. Readers of its Hankyung PLUS can view the print
version and save articles on various digital platforms. Its premium
content includes exclusive stories on business, current affairs,
culture and entertain- ment. Both business dailies charge the same
price for their services, set at 15,000 won for the digital
version, and 20,000 won for the digital version and paper
delivery.
Chosun Ilbo’s Premium Chosun focuses on quality content. The
special section features pre- mium content from 300 writers in its
newsroom and 210 experts from various fields. Behind-the- scenes
stories, in-depth analyses, columns and Q&As between reporters
and subscribers are available in the section. Other services
include access to a biographical database of Koreans and a photo
database. Initially, Chosun was said to charge certain fees for its
premium content. Naeil Shinmun’s e-Naeil Shinmun is one of the most
aggressive outlets seeking to commercial- ize their news content.
Naeil announced it would charge for all of its news content and
suspended its content delivery to online portal sites. While the
subscribers of the print version can get free access to its
website, other users have to pay 10,000 won per month to read
Naeil’s news ar- ticles online.
Alternative Media Kick-start Inter- net News Sites
A growing number of alternative Internet news media are making
their debut in the form of nonprofit organizations or cooperatives.
New- stapa and Kukmin TV belong to the alternative online news
media category. Newstapa gained public attention by reporting on a
suspected tax evasion incident in May 2013. Kukmin TV, which
started as a cooperative, kicked off its ser- vice on April 1,
2014, and introduced a regular daily news program (from Monday to
Friday at 9 p.m.), which follows the same format adopted by
terrestrial broadcast networks. Pressian, an Internet newspaper
established in 2001, became a cooperative in July 2013, the first
such attempt by a Korean media outlet. Whether alternative Internet
media can come up with tangible results remains to be seen. But
there is a positive sign that alternative Internet news media are
already attracting attention from online users in Korea. In
particular, their focus on investigative jour- nalism is infusing a
fresh stimulus to the estab- lished media.
Meanwhile, the Huffington Post, a lead- ing internet news
aggregator and blog, joined hands with Hankyoreh to found
Huffington Post Korea on Feb. 28, 2014. Huffington’s Korean
edition, its 11th joint endeavor with other media outside of the
U.S., is a hybrid outlet that com- bines news and blogs. Despite
the brand power of its parent company, Huffington Post Korea does
not have a strong influence in the local media market yet. One
reason behind the slow growth of Huffington Post Korea can be found
in Korea’s distinctive media market, which is already overcrowded
with a number of Internet media.
14 Chapter1. 2013/2014 Korean Media Overview
Live Streaming of TV News on Di- verse Platforms
In the second half of 2013, JTBC, a comprehen- sive programming
channel, started live stream- ing its main news program on portal
sites. The service marked the first-ever attempt; major broadcast
networks have not tried such stream- ing services for their
flagship news programs. JTBC started the streaming service of its
news program on Naver and Daum on Oct. 21, 2013. It also began to
provide its streaming news to Nate and YouTube on Dec. 23 of the
same year. In addition, JTBC was already providing audio files of
its news program to leading podcast service provider Podbbang. The
comprehensive programming channel also offered its news program to
streaming service provider Afreeca TV. JTBC limited the streaming
service to its flagship evening news program, but its strategy
appears to be based on its efforts to boost ratings and enhance its
social impact. As JTBC set out to increase its influence by
offering its news on different platforms, other comprehensive pro-
gramming channels and terrestrial broadcasters are also paying
attention to the potential of such services.
JTBC’s strategy to diversify its distribution routes appears to
have led to an increase in view- ership. Three weeks after JTBC
started streaming “News 9,” the number of its accumulated view- ers
surpassed 1 million. In the first week of Janu- ary 2014, the
number of viewers watching the streaming news live reached 500,000.
Its podcast service attracted more than 1 million hits. On Feb. 7,
2014, the number of accumulated viewers -- from both live streaming
and podcast services -- surpassed 10 million. The figure topped 30
million on May 5 and 42 million on June 7.
Meanwhile, JTBC garnered more than 1.2 million online viewers for
its live coverage of the June 4 local elections. The program on
final vote results attracted nearly 400,000 hits. JTBC’s strategy
is deemed a success as it charted a new course by diversifying its
news content delivery routes to online platforms in a way that
boosted the viewership. Whether its move would have a positive
impact on its balance sheet should be analyzed later.
Daum-Kakao Merger and Kakao News
One of the year’s biggest news developments in the South Korean
media industry was the merger of Daum Communications and Kakao
Corp., which was announced on May 26, 2014. On Oct. 1, 2014, the
newly merged company, named Daum Kakao, was launched. The merger
drew keen public interest as Kakao, known for its popular mobile
messenger, joined forces with Daum, a major portal. Some analysts
predicted that Daum Kakao would emerge as a strong con- tender
against Naver, the country’s biggest portal keen to boost its
mobile presence. In a related development, Kakao News also
attracted atten- tion in the mobile news industry. The service,
which debuted in September 2014, has huge po- tential largely
because it can be linked to Kakao Talk. Given that Kakao Talk has
35 million us- ers, or the majority of smartphone users in South
Korea, Kakao News could generate a strong impact on the news
industry. In theory, if Kakao News adopted a push service, it could
deliver a news item to as many as 35 million Kakao Talk
subscribers. This is why news media companies are concerned about
how Kakao News plans to deliver its news.
15
Regardless of delivery method, Kakao News cannot avoid sensitive
issues involving news copyright and profit sharing based on mobile
ad- vertising revenue. Depending on the negotiation results with
media companies, Daum Kakao can bring in significant changes to the
online news media industry. Nonetheless, Kakao News is es-
sentially a news service operated by a portal site. If and when
Kakao News gains ground, portals will be able to tighten their grip
on the mobile news market.
Aside from Kakao News, Google is also strengthening its localized
news service in South Korea, suggesting that more changes will hit
the online news industry. Google launched Play Newsstand, a news
app, in November 2013. It was confirmed that Google explored news
con- tent partnerships with a number of Korean media firms in 2014.
Currently, mobile apps hold a very small share in total mobile news
consumption in South Korea. Most mobile news gets distributed
through mobile websites, especially those run by major portals.
Therefore, it seems unlikely that Google’s Play Newsstand will
reshape the coun- try’s mobile news industry. But Google exercises
an almost absolute influence in the mobile eco- system and smart
media market with its Android operating system. Any change in
Google’s news service policy can potentially have a strong im- pact
on the Korean mobile news market.
The Right to be Forgotten and the Freedom of the Press
On May 13, 2014, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) handed down a
ruling against Google, recognizing “the right to be forgotten.” The
court said that all users of search engines such as Google have the
right to be forgotten on the
Internet. Therefore, when users ask Google to remove links that
contain irrelevant or overly personal information about them, the
search en- gine has to delete the links, the ruling said. Even if
information posted on the website in question is legal, Google is
obligated to remove the links and must also set up a separate
channel through which users can request the removal of personal
information in search results. If Google refuses to remove the
links, users can ask governmental organizations to enforce the
removal, the ruling specified. But the right to be forgotten is
applied only to personal information that is not directly related
to public interest. As the ruling involves only the removal of
links, it is another matter to remove websites that contain
problematic content. The ruling, meanwhile, does not put forward
specific conditions that dictate Google’s decision to either accept
or refuse a user’s re- quest for the removal of links. Instead, the
ruling suggests a vague principle of striking a balance between
public interest and an individual’s right to privacy.
The ECJ ruling instantly touched off a fire- storm of disputes over
whether it undermined the freedom of the press and restricted the
formation of public opinion. Removing articles critical of
individuals or links to such information available on Google can
limit the freedom of the press. There is also a concern that the
practice of allow- ing the removal of online search results can
lead to media censorship and, by extension, control of the media.
The ECJ ruling is also stirring up a controversy in South Korea.
Under the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications
Network Utilization and Information Protec- tion (Article No. 44,
2), a Korean user can ask for the removal of personal information
on the Internet or what is called a “temporary measure”
16 Chapter1. 2013/2014 Korean Media Overview
to restrict access to such data. However, the law has been under
criticism for its limitations. Cur- rently, the media is encouraged
to initiate social debates to ensure both the right to be forgotten
and the freedom of the press.
Surge in Mobile News Content
Personal computers were used to be the dominant channel to read
news. In recent years, however, smart devices led by smartphones
have outpaced personal computers as the leading channel to read
news. The latest traffic data on news readers show that mobile news
usage has increased dra- matically thanks to the wide adoption of
smart- phones. In terms of net visitors, news services on major
portals attracted slightly more traffic than news sites run by
print newspapers, broadcasters and Internet newspapers. Among
personal com- puter users, 71 percent use news services on por- tal
sites, while the figure for dedicated news sites reached 69
percent. When it comes to average visit duration and average page
views, however, portal news sites outpaced dedicated news sites by
2 to 1. In detail, users spent an average of 1 hour and 57 minutes
per month reading news on portal sites, and 48 minutes on dedicated
news sites. Portal news site users logged 169 average page views,
while the figure for dedicated news media was 74 page views.
The number of smartphone users continues to rise, as does the
number of users preferring tab- let computers to desktop and laptop
computers. This shift illustrates the fact that smart platforms are
the dominant channel for consuming news content in the mobile
environment. Users read news available on the Web or via mobile
apps. In South Korea, Web-based usage of news content remains the
mainstream.
The proportion of smartphone users who read news via Web-based
portal news services was 59 percent, while the figure for dedicated
news media was 54 percent. The gap in the average visit duration
and average page views was wider between the two competing services
on smart- phones than on desktop computers. In short, portal news
services attracted five times more mobile traffic than dedicated
news media. Over a period of one month, smartphone users spent an
average of 2 hours and 33 minutes reading news on portal news
sites, while spending just 32 min- utes for dedicated news sites.
Portal news sites recorded an average of 191 pages in terms of the
monthly page views, while dedicated news sites lagged behind with
36 page views.
• Advertising
Advertising Market Grows Only 2 Percent in 2013
In 2013, the advertising market grew by only about 2 percent,
undershooting expectations. Ac- cording to Cheil Worldwide’s annual
report on advertising, South Korea’s net expenditure on advertising
was 9.58 trillion won in 2013, risen by about 2.2 percent from 9.38
trillion won in 2012. Another broadcast advertising expenditure
analysis from the Korea Broadcast Advertising Corporation (KOBACO)
showed that South Korea’s advertising market grew 2.9 percent on-
year to reach 11.29 trillion won in 2013. The lower-than-expected
growth was brought on by shrinking private consumption and lagging
ex- ports that caused most companies to reduce their advertising
budgets.
17
Cheil Worldwide’s 2013 advertising expendi- ture breakdown for
media shows that terrestrial TV and print media advertisements
declined, while advertising via IPTV, mobile devices and movie
theaters increased. KOBACO’s statistics show the same trend with
marginal differences in figures.
The 2013 net advertising expenditure break- down based on the type
of media -- broadcast, print media, the Internet, OOH, mobile
devices and production -- indicates that broadcast adver- tising
still takes the largest share of ad spending with 37.2 percent. Of
the broadcasting sector, terrestrial TV advertisements take the
biggest portion with 19.1 percent. The broadcasting sector was
followed by the print media sector at 21.0 percent (newspapers at
16.1 percent and magazines at 4.8 percent) and the Internet sec-
tor at 20.9 percent. This shows that Internet ad spending now
outpaces that of terrestrial TV and newspapers. In addition,
expenditures on out- door advertising media recorded 10.1 percent,
mobile device advertising 4.8 percent and pro- duction costs 6.1
percent.
In 2013, the broadcasting sector’s terrestrial TV recorded 19.1
percent. Although it still accounted for the biggest share of the
entire advertising expenditure, its share declined 5.4 percent from
the previous year(2012). On the other hand, cable TV/comprehensive
program- ming channels grew by 4.6 percent to take 14.4 percent of
total ad spending. IPTV deserves particular attention. Although the
IPTV segment took only 0.4 percent of total ad spending, it re-
corded a breakneck growth rate of 61.7 percent. Newspapers, which
belong to the print media sector, carved out a 16.1 percent share
of overall ad spending. Newspapers remain a major adver- tising
channel, but their share slid 6.6 percent
from a year earlier, illustrating the downward trend in newspaper
advertising.
While the advertisement market for tradi- tional media such as
terrestrial TV and news- papers continued to decline, new media
pulled off steady growth throughout 2013. The Internet sector’s
share of advertising expenditures grew by 2.5 percent, recording a
small but consistent rise. The mobile advertising market grew by
119 percent, maintaining its rapid growth. OOH showed a stable
growth rate of 5.9 percent, and movie theater advertisements
continued to enjoy a high growth rate of 10.9 percent.
South Korea’s expenditure on advertising is diverging from the
traditional four major media platforms to new media, a trend that
acceler- ated in 2013. Of the new media, IPTV, mobile devices and
movie theater advertisements seem particularly promising channels
for reaching consumers.
Rapid Growth and Intensifying Competition of the Mobile Device
Advertising Market
The biggest change in advertising in 2013 was the explosive growth
of the mobile advertising market powered by the mass adoption of
smart- phones. The market grew more than 100 percent in 2013 and is
expected to have seen sizable growth in 2014. It is predicted that
this will re- sult in sluggish growth in Internet advertising and
even trigger negative growth in traditional media
advertising.
The increase in mobile traffic is leading to greater competition
among advertisers target- ing mobile devices. Google, Daum and
Naver launched their mobile advertisement solutions in 2013, and SK
Planet jumped into the market in
18 Chapter1. 2013/2014 Korean Media Overview
2014. KT is also preparing to make inroads into the mobile
advertising market. Furthermore, global companies such as Facebook
and Twitter are also set to enter the domestic market, all of which
will lead to heating up competition.
Potential of Comprehensive Pro- gramming Channels as Advertising
Media Confirmed
Throughout 2013, a serious debate played out over whether the
government should renew licenses for the three comprehensive
program- ming channels (TV Chosun, JTBC and Channel A) and one news
channel (News Y). In March 2014, the government renewed the
licenses for the four channels for the next three years, put- ting
an end to the debate. Though their initial ratings sagged at 0.3
percent, these channels steadily increased viewership, which is why
ad spending is increasing for these comprehensive programming
channels despite a slowdown in the cable TV advertisement
market.
According to the Korea Communications Commission’s 2013 ratings
analysis for service providers, TV Chosun and JTBC’s ratings were
as high as that of SBS, a terrestrial broadcaster. In 2014,
comprehensive programming channels recorded higher ratings not only
for entertain- ment programs such as talk shows and soap op- eras,
but also news and current affairs programs, which attract more
advertising.
Sea Change Expected in Broadcast Advertising Market due to New
Government Measures
For the first time since 1999, the government announced a new
comprehensive plan on broad-
casting entitled the “Comprehensive Plan on Broadcasting Industry
Development in the Era of the Creative Economy” on Dec. 10, 2013.
The new measure is expected to substantially relax numerous
regulations that hitherto restrict the local broadcast advertising
market. The key areas of changes in the market are as
follows:
Increasing mandatory reception fees for public broadcasting
Establishing a road map for improving broadcast advertising
institutions Reforming the list of items prohibited from
advertising Expanding the advertising sales area allowed for media
reps, from the current terrestrial broadcast into oth- er fields
such as comprehensive programming channels, IPTV and DMB.
Particularly, the road map for reforming the broadcast advertising
system includes permis- sion for terrestrial broadcasters to run
commer- cial breaks and designating a certain portion of airtime to
commercials, which had been heavily debated before but never
realized. The debate drew attention once again in 2014, with heated
discussions between paid service operators and terrestrial
broadcasters.
Terrestrial channels, which are already los- ing viewers to
comprehensive programming channels, insist that a cap on the total
number of commercials and the implementation of com- mercial breaks
will increase their advertisement income, which will enable them to
produce higher-quality broadcasting content and better public
services. On the other hand, major news- papers that own cable TV
and comprehensive programming channels argue that a cap on the
total number of commercials and the imple- mentation of commercial
breaks will drastically
19
reduce advertising income, which will not only threaten the
survival of paid services but even infringe on viewers’ rights. The
Comprehensive Plan on Broadcasting also includes a plan to ex- pand
the scope of the Media Rep Law to include the Internet and mobile
device advertisements, which will require further discussion.
The Emergence of the Cross Media Market
The spread of the N screen and a growing in- terest in new media
have hurt terrestrial TV’s viewership. These changes have brought
forth the cross media campaign market, which inte- grates diverse
media to deliver a new type of advertisement. It appears that more
cross media campaigns, such as connecting television adver-
tisements with mobile devices, will gain growth momentum.
Furthermore, a debate raged over integrated viewership analysis in
2013, with a growing number of people enjoying content on a wide
range of platforms including TV, mobile devices and personal
computers.
Integrated viewership is a tool to determine the value of given
content in today’s multimedia world. If content-based total
viewership data is aggregated to better assess its value, it would
be possible to gauge the advertising effect of cross media more
accurately. This will in turn spur the growth of the cross media
sector. In 2014, the Korea Broadcasters Association and ratings
agencies suggested specific methods to assess integrated
viewership.
The Changing Roles of New and Conventional Media in
Advertising
The shifting expenditure for traditional and new
media advertisements has sparked a change in the way advertising
agencies produce their com- mercials. Until now, terrestrial TV had
generally led advertising campaigns, while other media played a
supporting role. Today, however, it is the Internet and mobile
advertising that lead the campaign while television plays a
supporting role such as announcing its start. For example, Korean
Air’s 2013 “The Europe that I love Top 10” campaign had been driven
primarily on Internet and mobile platforms, whereas conven- tional
media -- print media and TV -- played a supporting role.
• Media-related Laws
A series of laws regarding broadcasting had been legislated and
amended between late 2013 and early 2014. The Broadcasting Law was
amended twice and articles regarding installa- tion of broadcasting
and communication equip- ment had been added to the Framework Act
on Broadcasting Communications Development. More importantly, the
Special Act on the As- sistance to the Development of Regional
Broad- casting had been legislated.
Laws tend to reflect the needs of the times. Therefore, it is
assumed that the Sewol ferry tragedy in April 2014 was the reason
why the Regulation on the Installation of Broadcast- ing and
Communication Equipment in case of Disaster was added to the
Framework Act on Broadcasting Communications Development. In
addition, amendments to the Broadcasting Law included many
regulation changes related to KBS; this may be due to the public’s
heightened focus on the role of KBS as a public broadcaster.
20 Chapter1. 2013/2014 Korean Media Overview
It is timely that the amendments to the Broadcasting Law included
the addition of a clause of “regulation against racial, ethnic, re-
gional or religious discrimination” to the Broad- cast Deliberation
Regulation. South Korea has become a multicultural society with a
growing population of diverse races, nationalities and religions.
Against this backdrop, broadcasting should promote social cohesion
while avoiding divisive content such as racial, ethnic, regional or
religious discrimination.
The newly legislated Special Act on the Assistance to the
Development of Regional Broadcasting is designed to support
regional broadcasters, which face many challenges. The Special Act
on the Assistance to the Develop- ment of Regional Newspapers had
already been legislated and in effect since 2004. The Special Act
on the Assistance to the Development of Regional Broadcasting came
belatedly, especial- ly compared to the version concerning regional
newspapers. But regardless of the timing, state- led support for
regional broadcasters seems rea- sonable given that they provide a
public service and serve public interests.
Broadcasting Law
• Amendment of Aug. 13, 2013
Small modifications were made to the financial auditing for the
public broadcaster KBS. Three institutions oversee the financial
report by KBS: the Korea Communications Commission, the Board of
Audit and Inspection of Korea and the National Assembly. Prior to
the amendments, KBS was required to submit its financial docu-
ments to the KCC and National Assembly with- in two months of the
end of its fiscal year, after
which the National Assembly would approve the report. The problem
was that the BAI’s audit took place only after the National
Assembly’s preliminary approval. The BAI is required to receive
KBS’ financial report from the KCC, run its audit and then send the
results back to the KCC.
Since the approval order is from the KCC to the National Assembly
to the BAI, there was a possibility that the BAI’s role could
become a mere formality. It was also possible that the re- sults of
the audit could not be presented in time for the National Assembly
to refer to in its final approval process. In addition, if the
National Assembly delayed the preliminary approval, the board’s
audit would also be postponed. To solve these problems, the
approval process was changed so that the Board of Audit’s
inspection would have greater significance. Also, relevant
regulations were amended or introduced so that the Board of Audit’s
inspection results would be used in the National Assembly’s budget
and ac- count process.
• Amendment of May 28, 2014
Many regulations under the Broadcasting Law were amended. First,
the clause of “regulation against racial, ethnic, regional or
religious dis- crimination” was added to broadcast delibera- tion
standards, which is defined by the Korea Communications Standards
Commission.
Also, a wide range of procedures had been put in place to
institutionally uphold KBS’ in- dependence and political
neutrality, including enforced standards for dismissals,
appointment hearings and professional confidentiality.
Finally, diverse systems had been newly implemented or upgraded to
protect and pro-
21
mote the rights of viewers, ranging from finan- cial support to
expand the geographic coverage of broadcasting for handicapped
people, to the introduction of standard volume for digital
broadcasting programs and the establishment of a viewer media
center.
Framework Act on Broadcasting Communications Development
Roads, subways and railroads are public trans- portation systems
universally used by citizens. In addition, they provide additional
facilities such as tunnels and underground spaces that can be used
as evacuation points when a natural di- saster or emergency
occur.
However, the majority of roads, subways and railroads are not
equipped with relay equip- ment in underground spaces to receive
radio broadcasts or mobile multimedia broadcasts. Even in locations
where relay equipment is in- stalled, there is a conflict among
operators over management and maintenance issues. In case of
emergencies, unless a breakthrough is found, the locations’ role as
evacuation points is seriously limited.
Therefore, Article 40, Paragraph 2 had been newly introduced to
ensure sound reception of disaster announcements and civil defense
alerts in locations where broadcasting reception is not available
(roads, subways and railroad tun- nels or underground spaces) by
installing relay equipment to enable radio and mobile multime- dia
broadcast reception. This will enable South Korea to efficiently
respond to disasters and crises and ensure public safety.
Special Act on the Assistance to the Development of Regional Broad-
casting
The Special Act on the Assistance to the Devel- opment of Regional
Broadcasting was passed on June 3, 2014, and went into effect on
Dec. 4, 2014. The law was passed against the backdrop of mounting
challenges facing South Korea’s regional broadcasters.
As of now, regional broadcasters confront a host of roadblocks,
including intensifying com- petition among diverse media as a
result of the recent media convergence as well as an increase in
paid services in the broadcasting market. More seriously, the
government’s media policy shifts -- the introduction of the
multiple Media Rep system and the establishment of compre- hensive
programming channels -- put at risk the very existence of regional
broadcasters, which had already been facing unfavorable market
conditions.
Regional broadcasting can be regarded as a “common good” in that it
provides a universal broadcasting service to citizens living in
rural areas, thereby contributing to the protection of the viewer’s
right to know. Therefore, regional broadcasters cannot be left to
the market econo- my’s principle of free competition.
Accordingly, there have been growing calls for policy measures to
support regional broad- casters, which are standing on the brink of
a make-or-break crisis. With the social consensus shifting to
support such efforts, a special law was passed to support regional
broadcasters so that they can continue to protect the people’s
right to know in isolated areas and provide an official channel of
communication in rural com- munities.
22 Chapter 2. Media Market
• Notice
The Definition of the Newspaper Industry
The Newspaper Law defines newspaper as peri- odicals that are
published in the same name, two or more times a month, to spread
reports, com- mentaries, public opinion and information on general
areas such as politics, economy, society, culture, industry,
science, religion, education, and sports or a specific area. These
newspapers are categorized into general daily newspapers, special
daily newspapers, general weekly news- papers, and special weekly
newspapers.
General daily newspapers are defined as pe- riodicals published
every day to spread reports, commentaries, and public opinion on
politics, economy, society, culture and other topics. Spe- cial
daily newspapers are defined as periodicals published daily to
spread reports, commentaries and public opinion on topics limited
to a spe- cial area other than politics, such as industry, science,
religion, education or sports. General weekly newspapers are
defined as periodicals published once a week, twice a week or more
than twice a month to spread reports, commen- taries and public
opinion on politics, economy, society, culture and so on. Special
weekly newspapers are defined as periodicals published once a week,
twice a week or more than twice a month to spread reports,
commentaries, and
public opinion on things limited to special areas, other than
politics, industry, science, religion, education or sports.
Newspaper companies are those that publish newspapers.
The Newspaper Law defines internet news- papers as electronic
periodicals published to spread reports, commentaries, public
opinions and information on politics, economy, society, culture and
other topics by using devices such as computers and communication
networks capable of processing information. To fit this definition,
they have to meet the standards, as designated by a presidential
order, of independent article production and continuous
publication. Internet newspaper companies are defined as those that
publish internet newspapers electronically.
Typology of newspapers
Except for the internet news service, newspapers designated by the
Newspaper Law are largely categorized as print or paper newspapers
and internet newspapers. This survey categorizes the newspaper
industry in two large areas.
First, newspapers can be classified into two categories, daily
newspapers and weekly newspapers. Considering the current newspaper
environment, daily newspapers might be cat- egorized as national
general daily newspapers, local general daily newspapers, economic
daily newspapers, sports daily newspapers, foreign language daily
newspapers, other special daily newspapers and free daily
newspapers. Weekly
Chapter 2
Media Market
23
newspapers can be categorized as national gen- eral weekly
newspapers, local general weekly newspapers and special weekly
newspapers.
Second, internet newspapers can be catego- rized as internet
general newspapers, internet lo- cal newspapers and internet
special newspapers, according to the characteristics of the news
that they produce.
Third, national general daily newspapers are print newspapers
published and distributed nationwide every day to spread reports,
com- mentaries and public opinions on nationwide politics, economy,
society, culture and so forth. This survey places them in two
categories, I and II, based on whether they provide stable
management information as newspapers posting public financial
information electronically with the Korean Financial Supervisory
Commission.1
2014 Annual Reports on Newspaper Industry
All daily newspapers, weekly newspapers, and internet newspapers,
among the periodicals registered in the Ministry of Culture, Sports
and Tourism and local autonomous governments as of December 31,
2013, were selected after eliminating duplication, suspension, and
closure through phone surveys. Since a newspaper com- pany can run
several kinds of media, all media entities were separately
categorized.
Within the domestic newspaper industry, the number of media
entities totaled 3,609. These included 1,541 print or paper
newspapers and 2,068 internet newspapers. The number of me- dia
responding included 1,217 print newspapers, a 79.0% response rate,
and 1,416 internet news- papers, a response rate of 68.5%.
The number of business entities that respond- ed to the survey
included 1,031 paper newspa- pers, a 78.5% response rate, and 1,188
internet newspaper entities, a 66.9% response rate. In all, the
response ratio based on the number of media was 73.0% and the rate
based on the number of business entities was 71.8%.
The Definition of ‘broadcast’ in the Chapter 2 and 3
In these chapters, broadcast refers to broadcasts providing news
reports. Accordingly, data relat- ed to comprehensive programming
channels and news channels under the Broadcast Act were collected
as primary sources, and other channels (EBS and select religious
stations) were added as secondary sources. Terrestrial DMB channels
were included in the data since last year. As a result, this book
classifies “broadcast” into the following subcategories: public
broadcast, pri- vate broadcast, religious/specialized broadcast,
comprehensive programming channels and pro- fessional news
channels, and terrestrial DMB.
1 National general daily newspaper categorization criteria:
Newspapers that meet all conditions are considered as national
general daily newspapers in the first category. Newspapers that
meet some but not all of the conditions fall into the second
category of na- tional dailies. These conditions include newspapers
with nationwide distribution registered as general daily newspapers
as defined by the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism.
Conditions also require stable and continuous publication for ten
or more years. They also must fit the criteria of size as announced
by the Financial Supervisory Commission.
24 Chapter 2. Media Market
Types of Media
1. Newspaper
111. National General Daily Newspaper National General Daily
Newspaper
National General Daily Newspaper
112. Local General Daily Newspaper
113. Economic Daily Newspaper
114. Sports Daily Newspaper
117. Free Daily Newspaper
123. Special Weekly Newspaper
2. Broadcasting 21. Broadcasting
215. Terrestrial DMB
311. General Internet Newspaper
321. Local Internet Newspaper
331. Special Internet Newspaper
25
Daily News- paper*
National Daily l 11 1,451,840 -4.2 11 1.451,840 4,478 2,431 54.3
324 131,985
National Daily ll 16 26,173 201.4 - - 754 548 72.7 35 1,636
Local Daily 109 400,494 -8.3 9 217,792 6,058 4,418 72.9 66
3,674
Financial Daily 10 639,375 3.1 8 623,923 2,938 1,683 57.3 218
63,937
Sports Daily 6 93,082 -19.6 3 75,340 323 207 64.1 288 15,514
Foreign Language Daily 2 15,413 -19.2 - - 115 84 73.0 134
7,707
Special Daily 19 106,941 18.1 2 45,359 789 420 53.2 136 5,628
Free Daily 4 34,580 -56.2 2 25,091 128 74 57.8 270 8,645
Subtotal 177 2,767,897 -4.1 35 2,439,345 15,583 9,865 63.3 178
15,638
Weekly Daily
National Weekly 25 39,043 38.3 - - 453 301 66.4 86 1,562
Local Weekly 470 73,478 9.1 - - 2,301 1,774 77.1 32 156
Special Weekly 641 266,792 -5.2 - - 4,017 3,115 77.5 66 416
Subtotal 1,136 379,313 0.6 - - 6,771 5,190 76.7 56 334
Print Newspaper Total 1.313 3,147,210 -3.5 35 2,439,345 22,354
15,055 67.3 141 2,397
Broad- casting
Public Broadcast- ing 21 2,967,767 -0.4 21 2,967,767 9,378 1,442
15.4 316 141,322
Private Broadcast- ing 13 996,404 -5.7 13 996,404 2,762 548 19.8
361 76,646
Special Broadcast- ing 10 437,514 2.9 10 437,514 1,979 243 12.3 221
43,751
Cable Channel (Comprehensive/
News) 6 467,005 22.9 6 467,005 2,524 863 34.2 185 77,834
Terrestrial DMB 3 14,616 -20.3 3 14,616 112 - 0.0 131 4,872
Broadcasting Total 53 4,883,305 0.5 53 4,883,305 16,755 3,096 18.5
291 92,138
Internet News- paper
General Internet Newspaper 529 194,372 2.7 5 128,477 4,080 2,954
72.4 48 367
Local Internet Newspaper 476 23,018 -21.5 - - 1,844 1,664 90.2 12
48
Special Internet Newspaper 771 178,475 -30.8 - - 5,217 3,383 64.8
34 231
Internet Newspaper Total 1,776 395,865 -16.9 5 128,477 11,141 8,001
71.8 36 223
News Agency 14 192,690 -0.3 1 154,226 1,633 1,246 76.3 118
13,764
Total 3,156 8,619,070 -2.0 94 7,605,353 51,883 27,398 52.8 166
2,731
* The national daily II category has few media outlets in the first
place. In particular, one of the outlets with relatively high
revenue was included in the category, which greatly affected the
scale of the changes in total revenue. In addition, ‘E daily’ was
moved from
the Internet newspaper category to the financial daily category as
it launched a print version last year.
26 Chapter 2. Media Market
Total Media Revenue, Top 3 Newspapers & Top 3 Terrestrial
Broadcasting Companies (1 Million Won)
Media Industry 3 Newspapers 3 Broadcasting Companies
8,619,070
926,578
3,022,016
* 3 Newspapers: Chosun Ilbo, JoongAng Ilbo, Dong-A Ilbo * 3
Broadcasting Companies: KBS(Including local offices), MBC(Excluding
local stations), SBS
Newspaper Revenue (1 Million Won)
1,478,013
National Daily
Local Daily
Financial Daily
Sports Daily
Foreign Language
-3.0 -4.4 -8.3 -7.4
Public Broadcasting
Private Broadcasting
Special Broadcasting
Public Broadcasting
Private Broadcasting
Special Broadcasting
Category Advertising Rev- enue
Print Newspapers
Broadcasting Sector Revenue (1 Million Won)
Category Total Total Broad- casting Busi- ness Earnings
Broadcasting Business Earnings
Fee Advertising
Revenue Sponsorship
Earnings Program
Private Broadcasting 996,404 949,761 - 660,609 109,317 116,511
63,323 46,643
Special Broadcasting 437,514 152,277 - 64,207 40,817 1,149 46,104
285,237
Cable Channels (Comprehensive/
Terrestrial DMB 14,616 9,484 - 5,757 691 1,508 1,528 5,132
Total 4,883,305 4,332,859 612,744 2,378,676 389,871 556,561 395,005
550,446
29
Category Number of Com- panies
National Daily I
National Daily II
Weekly Local
Weekly Special Weekly
Seoul 1,515 1,451,840 22,739 5,293 638,701 93,082 15,413 106,724
34,396 36,965 12,520 239,849
Busan 66 63,717 674 521 3,112
Daegu 58 30,761 433 681
Incheon 85 12,336 50 983 2,560
Gwangju 86 1,145 35,374 185 100 1,025 860
Daejeon 89 1,145 31,726 381 1,086
Ulsan 39 14,002 1,398 469
6 Metropolitan cities 423 2,289 187,915 674 50 185 100 4,740
8,769
Gyeonggi 482 1,145 61,845 1,670 18,492 14,817
Gangwon 60 41,588 2,243 379
North Chun- gcheong 72 15,761 287 3,523 170
South Chun- gcheong 105 3,406 9,783 132
North Jeolla 59 17,985 3,398 957
South Jeolla 111 197 6,880 182
North Gyeongsang 159 13,386 4,884 353
South Gyeongsang 132 26,637 21 6,633 845
Jeju 38 26,481 166 382 339
9 Provinces 1,218 1,145 207,286 166 1,978 56,218 18,174
Total 3,156 1,451,840 26,173 400,494 639,375 93,082 15,413 106,941
34,580 39,043 73,478 266,792
Category Public Broad- casting
Seoul 2,585,819 707,622 433,347 467,005 14,616 184,338 1,954
139,112 187,453 7,378,788 85.6
Busan 38,958 57,287 2,018 1,155 2,518 592 170,551 2.0
Daegu 33,958 33,499 364 529 1,303 101,528 1.2
Incheon 6,768 405 586 14,392 38,080 0.4
Gwangju 23,151 31,195 2,149 880 394 828 97,285 1.1
Daejeon 24,891 26,485 443 946 2,757 59 89,918 1.0
Ulsan 24,543 21,931 946 601 77 63,966 0.7
6 Metropolitan cities 145,501 177,165 4,167 4,193 5,573 19,948 59
561,328 6.5
Gyeonggi 43,385 3,639 3,676 12,307 5,177 166,154 1.9
Gangwon 54,361 20,305 176 978 1,191 121,221 1.4
North Chun- gcheong 28,446 15,064 102 564 1,841 65,758 0.8
South Chun- gcheong 832 1,131 2,171 17,456 0.2
North Jeolla 21,767 19,116 45 388 289 63,944 0.7
South Jeolla 32,349 343 858 274 41,084 0.5
North Gyeongsang 30,211 307 2,753 388 52,281 0.6
South Gyeongsang 53,052 192 3,394 817 91,591 1.1
Jeju 16,261 13,746 205 1,748 137 59,465 0.7
9 Provinces 236,447 111,616 5,841 15,490 19,415 5,177 678,955
7.9
Total 2,967,767 996,403 437,514 467,005 14,616 194,372 23,018
178,475 192,690 8,619,070 100.0
30 Chapter 3. Media Workers
Number of Media Workers (2013)
Category Number of Companies
(%)
Local Daily 109 6,058 4,418 72.9 11.7 16.1
Financial Daily 10 2,938 1,683 57.3 5.7 6.1
Sports Daily 6 323 207 64.1 0.6 0.8
Foreign Language Daily 2 115 84 73.0 0.2 0.3
Special Daily 19 789 420 53.2 1.5 1.5
Free Daily 4 128 74 57.8 0.2 0.3
Subtotal 177 15,583 9,865 63.3 30.0 36.0
Weekly Newspaper
Subtotal 1,136 6,771 5,190 76.7 13.1 18.9
Print Newspaper Total 1.313 22,354 15,055 67.3 43.1 54.9
Broadcasting
Cable Channel (Comprehensive/News) 6 2,524 863 34.2 4.9 3.1
Terrestrial DMB 3 112 0 0.0 0.2 0.0
Broadcasting Total 53 16,755 3,096 18.5 32.3 11.3
Internet Newspaper
News Agency 14 1,633 1,246 76.3 3.1 4.5
Total 3,156 51,883 27,398 52.8 100.0 100.0
Chapter 3
Media Workers
Category 2012 2013 On-year
2012 2013
Print Newspaper
Daily Newspaper
Local Daily 6,353 6,058 -4.6 62 56
Financial Daily 2,752 2,938 6.8 306 294
Sports Daily 424 323 -23.8 85 54
Foreign Language Daily 114 115 0.9 57 58
Special Daily 946 789 -16.6 47 42
Free Daily 280 128 -54.3 47 32
Subtotal 16,588 15,583 -6.1 99 88
Weekly Newspaper
Subtotal 9,402 6,771 -28.0 8 6
Print Newspaper Total 25,991 22,354 -14.0 20 17
Broadcasting
Cable Channel (Comprehensive/News) 2,502 2,524 0.9 417 421
Terrestrial DMB 105 112 6.7 35 37
Broadcasting Total 16,536 16,755 1.3 312 316
Internet Newspaper
News Agency* - 1,633 - - 117
Total 53,991 51,883 -3.9 18 16
* The estimated number of journalists working for news agencies in
2012 is not available. The figure for 2013 is 1,633. If the 2013
news agency figure is excluded, the total number of media workers
is estimated at 50,250, down 6.9 percent from 2012.
32 Chapter 3. Media Workers
Print Newspaper Worker Numbers in the Past 3 Years (person)
National Daily
Local Daily
Financial Daily
Sports Daily
Public Broadcasting
Private Broadcasting
Special Broadcasting
118 105 112
2011 2012 2013
Internet Newspaper Worker Numbers In the Past 3 Years
(person)
2011
2012
2013
2,432
3,291
2,306
2,073
4,873
6,100
4,080
1,844
5,217
2011 2012 2013
Media Workers by Gender & Employment Type (person)
Full-Time MaleFull-Time Female
Under 29
30~34 35~39 40~44 45~49 50 or Older
4,844 (14.5%)
5,643 (16.8%)
Seoul6 Metropolitan Cities
High School Graduate or Under
College Graduate
University Graduate
Executive
Planning
Editorial
Newsroom
AD/Marketing
Executive
Planning
Editorial
Newsroom
AD/Marketing
Number of Reporters (person)
Category 2012 2013 Percentage (%)
2012 2013 2012 2013
National Daily l 2,519 2,431 8.9 -3.5 54.3 54.3 229 221
National Daily ll 676 548 2.0 -18.9 62.5 72.7 52 34
Local Daily 3,998 4,418 16.1 10.5 62.9 72.9 39 41
Financial Daily 1,471 1,683 6.1 14.4 53.4 57.3 163 168
Sports Daily 209 207 0.8 -1.0 49.3 64.1 42 35
Foreign Language Daily 82 84 0.3 2.4 71.9 73.0 41 42
Special Daily 475 420 1.5 -11.6 50.2 53.2 24 22
Free Daily 121 74 0.3 -38.8 43.2 57.8 20 19
Subtotal 9,550 9,865 36.0 3.3 57.6 63.3 57 56
National Weekly 253 301 1.1 19.0 50.4 66.4 12 12
Local Weekly 1,806 1,774 6.5 -1.8 71.6 77.1 4 4
Special Weekly 3,431 3,115 11.4 -9.2 53.8 77.5 5 5
Subtotal 5,491 5,190 18.9 -5.5 58.4 76.7 5 5
Print Newspaper Total 15,041 15,055 54.9 0.1 57.9 67.3 11 11
Public Broadcasting 1,460 1,442 5.3 -1.2 15.9 15.4 66 66
Private Broadcasting 554 548 2.0 -1.1 20.6 19.8 43 42
Special Broadcasting 242 243 0.9 0.4 11.8 12.3 27 27
Cable Channel (Comprehensive/News) 840 863 3.1 2.7 33.6 34.2 140
144
Terrestrial DMB - - 0.0 - - 0.0 - -
Broadcasting Total 3,096 3,096 11.3 0.0 18.7 18.5 58 58
General Internet Newspaper 1,842 2,954 10.8 60.4 56 72.4 4 6
Local Internet Newspaper 1,711 1,664 6.1 -2.7 82.6 90.2 4 3
Special Internet Newspaper 3,864 3,383 12.3 -12.4 63.3 64.8 5
4
Internet Newspaper Total 7,417 8,001 29.2 7.9 64.7 71.8 4 5
News Agency - 1,246 4.5 - - 76.3 - 89
Total 25,554 27,398 100.0 7.2 47.3 52.8 8 9
37
22,678 (82.8%)
4,720 (17.2%)
7,331 (26.8%)
20,067 (73.2%)
59.1% 60.0%
6,008 (21.9%)
16,670 (60.8%)
1,323 (4.8%)
3,397 (12.4%)
Full-Time Female
Full-Time Male
Part-Time Female
Part-Time Male
Under 29
30~34 35~39 40~44 45~49 50 or Older
3,002 (13.0%)
Newspaper Reporters by Educational Background (person)
High School Graduate or Under
College Graduate
Subeditor Investigative Reporter
Subeditor Investigative Reporter
Periodical Registration Numbers, 2011~2013
Category 2011 2012 2013
Daily 352 324 363
Other 336 369 353
Weekly 2,891 3,014 3,138
Monthly 4,209 4,512 4,696
Bimonthly 584 611 646
Quarterly 1,266 1,354 1,408
Annual/Biannual 425 451 506
Total 13,268 14,563 16,041
Corporate Structure (n=1,031)
153 (74.6%)
43 (21.0%)
Publication Cycle, Weekly Newspapers (n=676)
Twice a week Once a week Every 10 days Biweekly Other
26 (3.8%)
390 (57.7%)
11 (1.6%)
203 (30.0%)
46 (6.8%)
With
Without
577 (47.7%)
150 (12.3%)
Print Newspapers with/without Ombudsman System (n=1,217)
With
Without
Newspaper Mail Delivery
Publication/ Retail Outlet
Reader
Top 3 Newspapers Advertising Revenue Status by Industry, 2009~2013
(1 million won)
Industry 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Real Estate 58,769 46,641 48,671 38,683 32,504
Finance 35,849 37,488 30,956 23,140 21,950
Motor Vehicle 32,986 39,460 41,569 37,168 34,610
Tourism 15,601 17,417 15,657 13,597 10,575
Department Store 17,471 26,982 26,226 23,711 23,531
University & College 22,655 22,655 22,836 22,662 20,335
Hospital, Pharmaceutical & Health care 20,762 21,147 24,578
19,855 16,395
Fashion 22,035 32,685 37,552 32,594 29,656
Source: Cheil Worldwide Inc.
Newspaper Net Press Run Paid Copies
Chosun Ilbo 1,757,006 1,294,239
JoongAng Ilbo 1,263,681 811,083
Dong-A Ilbo 907,090 707,346
The Korea Economic Daily 507,986 340,389
Nongmin Newspaper 299,192 292,781
Sports Chosun 264,633 205,916
Hankook Ilbo 230,769 158,848
Munhwa Ilbo 171,324 146,898
Kookmim Ilbo 204,241 140,140
Sports Donga 181,426 139,317
Sports Seoul 186,927 137,902
Busan Ilbo 151,187 113,985
Seoul Shinmun 161,915 107,937
Maeil Shinmun 146,655 97,467
Segye Times 86,145 63,265
Money Today 84,329 59,274
Electronic Times 62,881 50,663
Sports Kyunghyang 71,415 50,383
Naeil Shinmun 65,391 48,698
Yeongnam Ilbo 71,080 44,583
Herald Business 56,395 40,324
Kyeongin Ilbo 52,100 40,007
Kyongnam Shinmun 43,472 33,119
Kwangju Ilbo 44,655 30,440
Kyeonggi Ilbo 31,514 22,718
Source: Korea Audit Bureau of Circulation
Advertising Revenue of Print Media (1 million won)
Category Media Advertising Revenue Growth Rate (%) Percentage
(%)
2011 2012 2013 2012 2013 2012 2013
Print Media
Source: Cheil Worldwide Inc.
Number of Firms by Broadcast Media
Relay Cable, 69
Program Provider, 188
Terrestrial TV, 32
Terrestrial Radio, 21
Terrestrial DMB, 19
Cable System Operator, 92
The Korea Communications Commission provided all data in this
chapter. More detailed data is available in its annual report,
Broadcast Industry Status Research Report(2014)
Chapter 5
Broadcasting Market
Category Digital TV Radio
KBS(Headquarter + 18 Local Offices) 32 25 49 2 76 108
EBS 1 1 1 2
MBC 1 1 2 3 4
MBC(18 Local Stations) (Busan, Ulsan, Gyeongnam, Daegu, Andong,
Pohang, Gwangju,
Mokpo, Yeosu, Daejeon, Cheongju, Chungju, Jeonju, Jeju, Chuncheon,
Gangneung, Wonju, Samcheok)
19 19 38 57 76
Local Private Broadcasting(11)
KNN 1 1 1 2
TBC 1 1 1 2
KBC 1 1 1 2
TJB 1 1 1 2
JTV 1 1 1 2
CJB 1 1 1 2
JIBS 1 1 1 2
UBC 1 1 1 2
G1(former GTB) 1 1 1 2
OBS 1 1
Local Radio Station(2)
Religious Broadcasting(5)
BBS 7 7 7
PBC 5 5 5
WBS 5 5 5
Traffic Station(2)
tbs-eFM(English) 1 1 1
Traditional Music(1) Gugak Broadcasting Foundaion 2 2 2
English Broadcasting(3)
Gwangju English Broadcasting Foundation 1 1 1
Busan English Broadcasting Foundation 1 1 1
Community Radio(7)
Total(53) 64 53 171 2 226 290
46 Chapter 5. Broadcasting Market
Channel Status of Terrestrial Broadcast Stations as of March,
2014
Category Broadcaster Channels Affiliated
Public Broadcasting
KBS WORLD TV
U KBS Heart U KBS Music U KBS Clover
KBS N Sports KBS Drama KBS Prime
KBS joy KBS Kids
Daegu, Andong, Pohang, Gwangju, Mokpo, Yeosu, Daejeon, Cheongju,
Chungju, Jeonju, Jeju, Chuncheon, Gangneung, Wonju, Sam-
cheok)
MBC MUSIC MBC NET
MBC SPORTS+ Terrestrial DMB
EBS plus1 EBS plus2
EBS English EBS u
Nickelodeon
UBC UBC TV UBC FM
JTV JTV TV JTV FM
CJB CJB TV CJB FM
G1(former GTB) G1 TV G1 FM G1 u
JIBS JIBS TV JIBS FM JIBS u
OBS OBS Kyeong-in TV Media OBS
Local Radio Station
Kyung-In Broadcasting iTVFM
Gyeonggi Broadcasting KFM
Gwangju Jeonbuk, Cheongju, Chuncheon, Daejeon, Ulsan, Pohang,
Gyeongnam, Jeju,
Yeongdong, Jeonnam)
BBS (7 local Stations: Seoul, Busan, Gwangju,
Daegu, Cheongju, Chuncheon, Ulsan) BBS FM BBS
PBS (5 local Stations: Seoul, Daejeon,
Daegu, Busan, Gwangju) PBC FM PBD/ SKY Pyeong-
hwa
Jeju, Mokpo, Changwon, Pohang, Ulsan, Busan, Daegu, Gwangju)
FEBC AM FEBC FM
Daegu, Gwangju, Jeonbuk) WBS FM
Traffic Station
Road Traffic Authority (10 regions: Seoul metropolitan area, Busan,
Gwangju, Daegu, Daejeon, Incheon, Wonju,
Jeonju, Ulsan, Changwon)
Traffic Station TBS
Broadcasting)
rental) TBS TV
English Broadcasting
The Korea International Broadcasting Foun- dation Arirang English
FM Arirang DMB Arirang TV
Gwangju English Broadcasting Foundation GFM
Busan English Broadcasting Foundation Busan-eFM
News Broad- casting YTN Radio YTN FM YTN DMB
YTN Science TV
YTN Weather
Traditional Music
Gugak FM (8 regions: Seoul, Namwon, Gangneung, Jindo, Gyeongju,
Jeonju, Busan, Daegu)
Gugak FM Gugak Gwangju
News Channel Status of Terrestrial Broadcast Stations as of March,
2014
Category Broadcaster TV Radio DMB
Public Broadcasting
1AM 2AM 3AM
MBC (18 Local stations) MBC TV AM My MBC TV
EBS EBS TV
KNN KNN TV PSB FM KNN u
TBC TBC TV TBC FM TBC u
KBC KBC TV KBC FM KBC u
TJB TJB TV TJB FM TJB u
UBC UBC TV UBC FM
JTV JTV TV JTV FM
CJB CJB TV CJB FM
G1 G1 TV G1 FM G1 u
JIBS JIBS TV JIBS FM JIBS u
OBS OBS Kyeong-in TV
BBS BBS FM
PBS PBC FM
WBS WBS FM
English Station
Gwangju English Broadcasting Foundation GFM
Busan English Broadcasting Foundation Busan-eFM
News Station YTN Radio YTN News FM YTN DMB
48 Chapter 5. Broadcasting Market
Broadcast Channel Status of Comprehensive Programming Channels
& Cable News Channels
Category Provider Channel
Comprehensive Programming Channel
YTN YTN
Station Media News Culture Entertainment
Minutes Percentage(%) Minutes Percentage(%) Minutes
Percentage(%)
KBS
EBS TV 8,125 1.7 460,097 98.3 0 0.0
MBC TV 101,590 19.5 193,930 37.3 224,280 43.1
R(AM) 59,395 11.3 368,560 70.4 95,545 18.3
Broadcast Programming of Private Stations
Station Media News Culture Entertainment
Minutes Percentage(%) Minutes Percentage(%) Minutes
Percentage(%)
SBS TV 86,652 17.3 186,873 37.4 226,550 45.3
R(AM) 79,714 15.2 235,762 45.0 207,964 39.7
KNN TV 120,007 24.1 164,792 33.1 212,617 42.7
TBC TV 71,235 14.2 229,588 45.8 200,157 40.0
R(FM) 3,650 0.7 293,950 56.2 225,220 43.1
KBC TV 105,207 21.0 186,884 37.3 209,186 41.7
R(FM) 5,820 1.1 0 0.0 518,700 98.9
TJB TV 93,477 18.7 214,985 42.9 192,438 38.4
UBC TV 99,867 20.0 213,237 42.7 186,528 37.3
R(FM) 1,300 0.2 304,995 58.3 217,145 41.5
JTV TV 97,800 19.6 202,077 40.4 200,321 40.0
CJB TV 75,669 15.1 231,181 46.3 192,885 38.6
G1 TV 70,830 14.1 210,560 41.9 220,825 44.0
JIBS TV 91,010 18.2 237,080 47.4 171,985 34.4
OBS TV 61,440 13.8 249,450 55.9 135,275 30.3
Kyung-In Broadcasting R(FM) 23,035 4.4 81,333 15.5 421,232
80.1
Gyeonggi Broadcasting R(FM) 103,878 19.8 188,626 35.9 233,096
44.3
49
Station Media
BBS R(FM) 67,145 14.6 312,732 68.0 80,023 17.4
WBS R(FM) 45,095 8.6 326,820 62.5 151,045 28.9
The Korea International Broadcasting Foundation R(FM) 48,980 9.3
268,115 51.0 208,505 39.7
Gwangju English Broadcasting Foundation R(FM) 87,660 17.4 201,840
40.0 214,560 42.6
Busan English Broadcasting Foundation R(FM) 49,499 9.4 269,041 51.2
207,060 39.4
YTN Radio R(FM) 327,591 62.3 198,009 37.7 0 0.0
Yearly Programming of Terrestrial DMB Broadcasters
Stations Media News Culture Entertainment
Minutes Percentage(%) Minutes Percentage(%) Minutes
Percentage(%)
KBS TV U KBS STAR 151,285 29 298,395 57.3 71,510 13.7
U KBS HEART 34,740 7.9 189,735 43.4 214,105 48.8
MBC TV MY MBC 102,227 19.7 182,378 35.2 231,925 44.8
SBS
TV SBS u TV 101,031 19.3 187,384 35.8 234,360 44.8
Radio SBSuDMB Radio 61,766 11.8 218,274 41.7 243,400 46.5
YTN DMB TV YTN DMB 438,545 83.4 71,700 13.6 15,355 2.9
Hankook DMB TV QBS 234,680 44.9 161,230 30.8 126,810 24.3
Broadcast Production Cost by Sources
Category
Minutes Cost (100 million won) Minutes Cost
(100 million won) Minutes Cost (100 million won)
In-house Production 23,418,770 5,382 45,390,032 7,962 68,808,802
13,344
Joint Production 648,561 106 36,247 56 684,808 162
Outsourcing 1,107,944 4,100 1,013,354 2,182 2,121,298 6,282
Affiliate Outsourcing 125,061 515 47,598 498 172,659 1,013
Purchase of Domestic Program 337,202 105 7,999,789 2,395 8,336,991
2,499
Purchase of Foreign Program 192,726 88 26,865,985 1,921 27,058,711
2,009
Total 25,830,264 10,296 81,353,005 15,014 107,183,269 25,310
50 Chapter 5. Broadcasting Market
Yearly Program Production Distribution of Terrestrial Broadcast
Stations (100 million won)
2011 2012
Outsourcing Costs of Terrestrial Broadcast Stations (100 million
won)
2011 2012
1,260
Yearly Program Production Distribution of Program Providers (100
million won)
2011 2012
Category News Culture Entertainment
KBS 1TV 150,795 28.9 298,475 57.3 71,920 13.8
KBS 2TV 38,825 8.9 188,110 42.9 211,095 48.2
MBC-TV 101,590 19.5 193,930 37.3 224,280 43.1
SBS-TV 86,652 17.3 186,873 37.4 226,550 45.3
EBS-TV 8,125 1.7 460,097 98.3 0 0.0
YTN Radio 327,591 62.3 198,009 37.7 0 0.0
Broadcast Programming of Terrestrial Stations by Sources
Category In-house/Joint Production Outsourcing Purchase of Domestic
and Foreign
Programs
KBS 1TV 367,487 70.5 132,943 25.5 20,760 4.0
KBS 2TV 187,492 42.8 225,463 51.5 25,075 5.7
MBC TV 245,280 47.2 261,525 50.3 12,995 2.5
SBS TV 220,742 44.1 270,738 54.1 8,595 1.7
EBS-TV 200,634 42.9 127,560 27.2 140,028 29.9
Domestic Broadcast Sales and Purchasing (100 million won)
2011 2012
Import
Export
2012 Program (Unit)
2012 Amount ($1,000)
2013 Program (Unit)
2013 Amount ($1,000)
1,279 3,1092,056 4,474
Terrestrial Broadcasting Program provider
12,177
2012 2013
Malaysia Thailand
Advertising Revenue by Broadcast Media, 2011~2013 (100 million
won)
Category 2011 2012 2013 Percentage (%) Growth Rate(%)
2011 2012 2013 2012 2013
Terrestrial TV 21,029 19,373 18,373 56.3 54.1 52.9 -7.9 -5.2
Terrestrial Radio 2,629 2,368 2,253 7.0 6.6 6.5 -9.9 -4.8
Terrestrial DMB 185 135 107 0.5 0.4 0.3 -26.9 -21.2
Cable System Operator 1,144 1,099 1,220 3.1 3.1 3.5 -3.9 11.0
Satellite Broadcasting 122 145 174 0.3 0.4 0.5 18.5 20.1
Satellite DMB broadcating 18 1 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 -93.8 -
Program provider 12,216 12,675 12,636 32.7 35.4 36.4 3.8 -0.3
Total 37,342 35,796 34,763 100.0 100.0 100.0 -4.1 -2.9
54 Chapter 5. Broadcasting Market
Top 10 Industries in Advertising Expenses, 2012~2013 (100 million
won)
Rank Category 2013 2012 Growth
Rate (%)Advertising Expense Per