Is ChatGPT's Growth Slowing in Korea?... Over 500,000 Users Lost in May

After Explosive Growth, ChatGPT Faces 'Growing Pains'
First Decline After Surpassing 10 Million Monthly Users

The rapid growth of ChatGPT, the generative artificial intelligence (AI) service that created a sensation in South Korea, has hit a snag. Just one month after surpassing 10 million monthly active users, the number of users has sharply declined, signaling a slowdown in its growth trajectory.

According to Mobile Index by IGAWorks on June 5, ChatGPT recorded 10,171,126 monthly active users (MAU) in May. This figure represents a decrease of 548,901 users compared to April, when the MAU stood at 10,720,227.

This is the first time since February last year that the number of ChatGPT users in South Korea has declined. Considering that the user base was only in the hundreds of thousands during the early days of the service, this is effectively the first real decrease in user numbers.

Until now, ChatGPT had maintained a steep growth curve. After surpassing 5 million users for the first time in March with 5,090,965 users, it broke through the 10 million mark in April, showing explosive growth.

This rapid growth was driven by the introduction of the ChatGPT-4o image generation feature by OpenAI in March. The ability to create images in the style of Studio Ghibli animation sparked a worldwide "Ghibli meme" craze.

The number of new downloads has also dropped significantly. In May, there were 1,506,416 new installations, which is only about one-third of April's 4,668,381. This is similar to the figure from March, which stood at 1,436,242.

The paid AI service market is expanding overall. According to a survey by the Korea Information Society Development Institute (KISDI), which is under the Korea Communications Commission, 7.0% of domestic internet users subscribed to paid AI services last year, a sevenfold increase from 0.9% the previous year.

Meanwhile, OpenAI officially announced its plan to establish a Korean subsidiary at a press conference in South Korea last month. The company intends to open its first office in Seoul within a few months and begin full-scale operations in the Korean market.

Jason Kwon, Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) of OpenAI, recently congratulated President Lee Jaemyung on his inauguration via the social media platform X, and expressed support for the new administration's AI policies. Kwon stated, "During our meeting with the Korean presidential team, I was deeply impressed by the vision for becoming a global AI powerhouse and the commitment to making AI accessible to the public," adding, "OpenAI will actively participate in that journey."