The app that beat KakaoTalk and was used by 93% of Koreans last year... ChatGPT was installed 16 million times

[The Financial News] In the domestic mobile app market last year, YouTube overtook KakaoTalk to rank No. 1 based on average monthly active users (MAU). Over the same period, new installs of ChatGPT surpassed 16 million, making the year stand out for the explosive rise of generative artificial intelligence (AI) apps.
According to the “2025 Korea Mobile App Rankings” report released the previous day by IGAWorks’ Mobile Index on the 9th, YouTube’s average MAU from January to December last year was 48.13 million. KakaoTalk followed with an average MAU of 46.35 million, and Naver with 44.94 million.
Ranked fourth and fifth were Google, with 41.28 million users, and Google’s browser app Google Chrome, with 39.43 million. In particular, Google’s MAU in December was up 12% compared with January.
In sixth place was Coupang, which recorded an average annual MAU of 33.71 million. Despite controversy over a personal data leak, its MAU in December was 8% higher than in January. NAVER Map, which has been enhancing its service, posted an average MAU of 27.81 million, with its year-end MAU up 10% from the beginning of the year. Kakao Map, which ranked 22nd, also showed growth with an average MAU of 12.10 million and a 21% increase in MAU.
Toss ranked 11th with an average annual MAU of 20.02 million, the highest among financial apps. Among domestic secondhand marketplace apps, Danggeun secured 12th place with 19.15 million users, as its MAU in December jumped 21% from January. Among food delivery apps, Baedal Minjok retained the top spot with an average annual MAU of 22.60 million, while Coupang Eats also logged 11.36 million users and saw its MAU in December rise 27% compared with January.
Amid these trends, the growth of ChatGPT was particularly striking. Although ChatGPT ranked 27th with an average annual MAU of 9.98 million, its MAU in December surged 341% from January, marking the strongest growth among all apps. New cumulative installs of ChatGPT last year reached 16.57 million, putting it in first place. It was followed by Digital Onnuri with 12.81 million installs, Chinese commerce platform Temu with 11.52 million, and Naver’s new AI commerce app Naver Plus Store with 10.20 million.
In the 101st to 200th ranking tier, Ttaenggyeoyo made notable gains. Its average MAU was 2.09 million, placing it 170th overall, but its MAU in December was 237% higher than in January. This was the largest increase among apps in the 101–200 range.
wongood@fnnews.com Joo Won-gyu Reporter