Is Korea Also a Sucker for YouTube? ... Japan Pays 20,000 Won, But We Pay 60,000 Won

'Account Sharing' Family Plan Not Released for Domestic Flights
Available for Around 20,000 KRW on Germany, Japan, and Italy Routes

Due to Google not launching the YouTube Premium 'Family Plan'?which is available in over 40 countries worldwide?in South Korea, domestic users are paying higher subscription fees compared to other countries.

On the 2nd, the National Assembly Legislative Research Office revealed that South Korea pays more than 30,000 KRW per month for YouTube Premium subscriptions for a four-person household compared to Italy, which has a similar Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and GDP per capita. This is because of the family plan. The family plan is a service that allows family members living at the same address to share an account and use YouTube Premium at a more affordable price. Google offers the family plan at a lower price than the two-person plan in 42 major countries, so the cost per individual is significantly reduced when using the family plan.

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In South Korea, where there is no family plan, subscribing to individual plans means a four-person household must pay 14,900 KRW each per month, totaling 59,600 KRW monthly. In contrast, as of October last year in Italy, the individual plan costs 11.75 euros (approximately 17,600 KRW) per month, and the family plan costs 17.99 euros (approximately 27,000 KRW) per month. Monthly subscription fee differences were also observed by country. In Japan, the UK, Canada, and Hong Kong, the family plan costs were around 20,000 KRW per month, but France, which had the highest fees among the surveyed countries, required 36,000 KRW per month.

The National Assembly Legislative Research Office explained, "Unlike Netflix, Disney Plus, and Apple TV, YouTube Premium operates a separate family plan, but it is not offered in South Korea and the United States," adding, "The number of YouTube Premium subscribers continues to increase." According to the Korea Communications Commission's '2024 Media Usage Survey,' domestic YouTube usage rate is 72.7%, far surpassing other OTT services such as Netflix (36%), TVING (14.8%), and Coupang Play (8.5%). YouTube usage rates have steadily increased year by year, from 66.1% in 2022 to 71% in 2023.

Meanwhile, criticism that Google discriminates against domestic YouTube users also arose during the National Assembly audit in October last year. At that time, Kim Kyung-hoon, President of Google Korea, avoided giving specific answers when asked about plans to introduce YouTube family plans, student plans, or light plans, stating, "We are reviewing everything."