"Annual OTT and AI subscriptions top 1 million won... Must be included in telecom-bill measures"

[Financial News] As OTT and AI subscription fees are added to mobile phone charges, calls have emerged to broaden policies aimed at easing telecom costs. Bae Kyung-hoon, deputy prime minister and minister of science and ICT, said the government would devise measures to reduce telecom costs, including OTT and AI subscription fees.
At a parliamentary audit of the Ministry of Science and ICT by the Science, ICT, Broadcasting, and Communications Committee of the National Assembly on the 6th, Hoon-gi Lee of the Democratic Party of Korea said, "We are now living in an era when lowering mobile phone charges alone makes it difficult for people to feel that their telecom costs have been reduced." He called for measures that take mobile charges as well as OTT and AI subscription fees into account.
Lee's office calculated the cost of simultaneously subscribing to four services—YouTube Premium, Netflix Premium, ChatGPT and Claude Pro—based on prices in South Korea. Monthly spending came to about 90,000 won, exceeding 1 million won annually. Mobile phone and internet charges must be paid separately.
Even subscribing to just two OTT services can be costly. The monthly subscription fee for YouTube Premium on the web and Android rose 71.5%, from 8,690 won in 2019 to 14,900 won in 2026. Subscribing to Netflix Premium, which costs 17,000 won per month, at the same time brings the monthly total to 31,900 won, or more than 380,000 won annually.
The number of users is also growing. According to the "2025 Survey on Broadcasting Media Usage," the OTT usage rate rose from 35.0% in 2016 to 81.8% last year. Among OTT users, 65.5% used paid services. Users who subscribed to monthly OTT plans used an average of 2.52 paid services, while 49.9% said the fees were burdensome. The rate of experience with generative AI also increased to 44.5%, up 11.2 percentage points from the previous year.
Telecom operators are also bundling OTT and AI services with their plans. According to data submitted by the Ministry of Science and ICT to Lee's office, KT's mobile OTT bundle offerings increased from three types in 2020 to 14 this year, while it currently operates four AI bundle offerings. Over the same period, LG Uplus expanded its Netflix bundle offerings from three types to 12 OTT and six AI offerings. SK Telecom also provides major OTT services and Google AI services as benefits under its plans.
National statistics have also expanded the existing "telecommunications" classification to "information and communications" since last year, jointly compiling data on the use of broadcasting and audiovisual content, including OTT services, as well as software subscription services.
Lee said, "In the past, mobile phone and internet charges were the main expenses, but OTT and AI subscription fees have now become fixed monthly costs for people." He demanded, "Devise a plan to reduce telecom costs in a way that people can actually feel and report it to my office."
Deputy Prime Minister Bae replied, "I agree with the point you raised," adding, "I will report to your office on a plan to reduce telecom costs, including OTT and AI subscription fees." 
[email protected] Yoon Hong-jip Reporter