South Korea Telecoms Market Report

Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Statistics and Analyses

Publication Date: July 2026

Report Pages: 186

Analyst: Henry Lancaster

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Summary
Table Of Contents

South Korea to integrate satellites for its national 6G coverage

South Korea ranks among the highest countries in the world for telecom market maturity. Advanced infrastructure covering the fixed and mobile sectors has been rolled out with strong central government support and effective regulatory oversight. As a result, fixed broadband services are largely based on fibre networks, while by late 2025 almost two thirds of all mobile connections are on 5G networks. South Korea is also on the leading edge of the latest telecom technology developments, including 6G. While the telcos may be focussed on continuing to develop 5G services, the government is looking ahead to 6G and has put in place investment strategies to ensure that the country is at the forefront for 6G standardisation and policy decision making.

With its highly urbanised, tech-savvy population, South Korea also enjoys very high penetration levels across all segments. The performance of the mobile sector is on a par with other developed markets in the region, but it is the wireline segment that allows South Korea to stand out from the crowd. This is partly a reflection of the large proportion of its population (around 60%) who live in apartment buildings, making fibre and apartment LAN connections relatively easy and cost-effective to deploy. The government’s Ultra Broadband Convergence Network (UBcN) is a significant initiative, enabling fibre-based broadband connections nationwide and promoting infrastructure sharing between telcos, thus reducing deployments costs.

Fixed-line teledensity is also very high level compared to most of the rest of the world, though the number of traditional copper connections has fallen steadily. More than half of fixed connections are now internet-based. The fall in traditional telephony forced the incumbent telco KT Corp to diversify into other telecom segments (including investments in 5G and the development of 6G) as well as non-telecom sectors (such as autonomous vehicles and AI) in an effort to transform itself into a digital platform company.

On the mobile front, users have enthusiastically migrated from one generation of mobile platform to the next as each iteration becomes available. There is no lack of demand for 5G in South Korea. Part of the reason behind the rapid transition may be the subsidised handsets on offer from the MNOs and the MVNOs – a practice that has become so widespread and cutthroat that the regulator in December 2024 promoted legislation which amended the maximum subsidies which can be offered.

Key Developments

MSIT planning to quadruple backbone network transmission speed by 2030 and increase submarine cable capacity to 260Tb/s.
5G adoption reaches 65.8% of all mobile phone subscribers.
MSIT to invest KRW440.4 billion in future 6G networks including development of integrated satellite technologies.
Report update includes regulator market data to September 2025, operator data to Q3 2025, update Telecom Maturity Index charts and analyses, recent market developments.

Key companies mentioned in this report:

KT Corp, SK Telecom, LG U+, SK Broadband, Stage X

Key statistics
Regional Asia market comparison

Market characteristics
Market Leaders
Market Challengers
Market Emergents
TMI vs GDP
Mobile and mobile broadband penetration
Fixed versus mobile broadband penetration

Country overview
Telecommunications market
Regulatory environment

Regulatory authority

Korea Communications Commission (KCC)
Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT)

Mobile network developments

Subsidies
Mobile Number Portability (MNP)
Spectrum

Mobile market

Mobile statistics
Mobile infrastructure

6G
5G
LTE
3G
CDMA
Mobile voice
Mobile broadband

Major mobile operators

SK Telecom
KT Corp
LG U+
MVNOs

Fixed-line broadband market

Fixed-line broadband technologies

Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) networks
Apartment LAN
Fibre-to-the-Premises (FttP) networks
Hybrid Fibre Coax (HFC) networks
Other fixed broadband services

Fixed broadband operators

KT Corp
LG U+
SK Broadband

Fixed network operators

KT Corp
LG U+

Telecommunications infrastructure

Overview of the national telecom network
National telecom network

National submarine cable infrastructure

International infrastructure

International submarine cable infrastructure
Korea Internet eXchange (KIX)

Smart infrastructure

IoT
Smart grid
Smart cities
Driverless Cars
Artificial intelligence (AI)

Data centres

Appendix – Historic data

Glossary of abbreviations

Related reports

List of Tables

Table 1 – Top Level Country Statistics and Telco Authorities – South Korea – 2026 (e)
Table 2 – Development of ICT revenue by type (million won) – 2018 – 2023
Table 3 – Development of telecom market revenue by sector (trillion KRW) – 2014 – 2024
Table 4 – Development of telecom market contribution to GDP – 2015 – 2025
Table 5 – Change in the number of mobile number portings – 2012 – 2025
Table 6 – Growth in the number of mobile connections and penetration – 2014 – 2025
Table 7 – Growth in the number of mobile subscribers and penetration – 2023 – 2028
Table 8 – Change in the number of mobile connections by platform (million) – 2012 – 2025
Table 9 – Change in the number of prepaid and contract mobile subscribers – 2018 – 2025
Table 10 – Change in the number of mobile phones by type – 2018 – 2025
Table 11 – Growth in the number of 5G subscribers by operator – 2019 – 2025
Table 12 – Increase in the number of SK Telecom’s 5G subscribers – 2019 – 2025
Table 13 – Change in the number of LTE subscribers by operator (million) – 2016 – 2025
Table 14 – Change in the number of 3G subscribers by operator (million) – 2017 – 2025
Table 15 – Change in the number of GSM subscribers by operator – 2017 – 2023
Table 16 – Growth in the number of mobile broadband subscribers and penetration – 2014 – 2028
Table 17 – Mobile broadband subscribers by operator (million) – 2017 – 2022
Table 18 – Change in mobile data traffic by platform (TB) – 2015 – 2025
Table 19 – Change in average mobile data traffic by platform per subscriber (MB/month) – 2018 – 2025
Table 20 – Change in the number of mobile subscribers by operator (million) – 2012 – 2025
Table 21 – Change in mobile market share by operator – 2012 – 2025
Table 22 – Development of mobile service ARPU per month by operator (KRW/month/subscriber) – 2012 – 2025
Table 23 – Change in the number of SK Telecom’s mobile subscribers by platform (million) – 2012 – 2025
Table 24 – Development of SK Telecom’s mobile service revenue – 2012 – 2025
Table 25 – Change in SK Telecom’s mobile ARPU (KRW/month) – 2015 – 2025
Table 26 – Development of KT Corp’s mobile subscribers by platform (million) – 2012 – 2025
Table 27 – Change in the number of KT Corp’s own and MVNO mobile subscribers (million) – 2018 – 2025
Table 28 – Development of KT Corp’s mobile service revenue (KRW billion) – 2012 – 2025
Table 29 – Change in KT Corp’s mobile ARPU – 2020 – 2025
Table 30 – Change in the number of LG U+ mobile subscribers (million) – 2012 – 2025
Table 31 – Change in the number of MVNO subscribers by operator (million) – 2012 – 2025
Table 32 – Change in the number of MVNO subscribers by technology – 2017 – 2025
Table 33 – Growth in the number of fixed broadband subscribers and penetration – 2014 – 2028
Table 34 – Change in the number of fixed broadband subscribers by platform (million) – 2012 – 2025
Table 35 – Change in the number of DSL broadband subscribers by operator – 2018 – 2025
Table 36 – Change in the number of apartment LAN broadband subscribers by operator – 2018 – 2025
Table 37 – Change in the number of fibre broadband subscribers by operator – 2018 – 2025
Table 38 – Change in the number of cable broadband subscribers by operator – 2018 – 2025
Table 39 – Increase in WiFi data traffic – 2022 – 2025
Table 40 – Change in the market share of fixed broadband subscribers by operator – 2012 – 2025
Table 41 – Increase in the number of KT‘s broadband subscribers – 2012 – 2025
Table 42 – Change in the number of LG U+‘s broadband subscribers – 2012 – 2025
Table 43 – Change in the number of SK Broadband’s fixed broadband subscribers – 2015 – 2024
Table 44 – Decline in the number of KT Corp’s fixed voice lines – 2012 – 2025
Table 45 – Development of KT Corp’s financial data (KRW billion) – 2012 – 2025
Table 46 – Change in the number of LG U+’s fixed-line subscribers (thousand) – 2012 – 2025
Table 47 – Development of LG U+’s financial data (KRW billion) – 2012 – 2025
Table 48 – Decline in the number of fixed lines in service and teledensity – 2014 – 2028
Table 49 – Change in the number of fixed-wired and VoIP lines (million) – 2016 – 2025
Table 50 – Increase in international internet bandwidth capacity – 2013 – 2024
Table 51 – Historic - Mobile subscribers – 1996 – 2013
Table 52 – Historic - CDMA mobile subscribers by operator (million) – 2002 – 2011
Table 53 – Historic - mobile market share by operator – 2002 – 2011
Table 54 – Historic - Mobile subscribers by operator (million) – 2002 – 2011
Table 55 – Historic - Mobile broadband subscribers and penetration – 2012 – 2013
Table 56 – Historic - Development of telecom market contribution to GDP – 2014 – 2014
Table 57 – Historic - Mobile Service ARPU per month by operator (KRW / month) – 2002 – 2011
Table 58 – Historic - KT Corp’s mobile subscribers by type (million) – 2004 – 2011
Table 59 – Historic - SK Telecom mobile subscribers by type (million) – 2002 – 2011
Table 60 – Historic - LG U+ mobile subscribers – 2003 – 2011
Table 61 – Historic - Fixed broadband subscriber growth and penetration rate – 1999 – 2013
Table 62 – Historic - Fixed lines in service and penetration – 1991 – 2013
Table 63 – Historic - South Korea VoIP subscribers – 2006 – 2011
Table 64 – Historic - Fixed broadband subscribers by platform (million) – 1998 – 2011
Table 65 – Historic - Fixed broadband subscribers by operator (million) – 2005 – 2011
Table 66 – Historic - Broadband market share by operator – 2005 – 2011
Table 67 – Historic - LG U+ broadband subscribers – 2004 – 2011
Table 68 – Historic - KT Corp - Fixed Voice - PSTN and VoIP lines subscribers – 1991 – 2011
Table 69 – Historic - KT Corp PSTN lines – 2003 – 2011
Table 70 – Historic - KT Corp VoIP subscribers – 2008 – 2011
Table 71 – Historic - LG U+ fixed-line (PSTN and VoIP) subscribers – 2005 – 2011
Table 72 – Historic - International bandwidth – 1997 – 2011

List of Charts

Chart 1 – Asia Telecoms Maturity Index – Market Leaders
Chart 2 – Asia Telecoms Maturity Index – Market Challengers
Chart 3 – Asia Telecoms Maturity Index – Market Emergents
Chart 4 – Asia – Telecoms Maturity Index vs GDP per capita
Chart 5 – Asia – Mobile subscriber penetration vs mobile broadband penetration
Chart 6 – Northern Asia – Mobile subscriber penetration vs mobile broadband penetration
Chart 7 – Northern Asia – Fixed and mobile broadband penetration
Chart 8 – Development of telecom market revenue by type – 2014 – 2024
Chart 9 – Change in the number of mobile number portings – 2012 – 2025
Chart 10 – Growth in the number of mobile connections and penetration – 2014 – 2025
Chart 11 – Growth in the number of mobile connections and penetration – 2023 – 2025
Chart 12 – Change in the number of mobile connections by platform – 2012 – 2025
Chart 13 – Change in the number of prepaid and contract mobile subscribers – 2018 – 2025
Chart 14 – Change in the number of mobile phones by type – 2018 – 2025
Chart 15 – Growth in the number of 5G subscribers by operator – 2019 – 2025
Chart 16 – Increase in the number of SK Telecom’s 5G subscribers – 2019 – 2025
Chart 17 – Change in the number of LTE subscribers by operator – 2016 – 2025
Chart 18 – Change in the number of 3G subscribers by operator – 2017 – 2025
Chart 19 – Change in the number of 2G subscribers by operator – 2017 – 2023
Chart 20 – Growth in the number of mobile broadband subscribers and penetration – 2014 – 2028
Chart 21 – Mobile broadband subscribers by operator – 2017 – 2022
Chart 22 – Change in mobile data traffic by platform – 2015 – 2025
Chart 23 – Change in average mobile data traffic by platform per subscriber (MB) – 2018 – 2025
Chart 24 – Change in the number of mobile subscribers by operator – 2012 – 2025
Chart 25 – Change in mobile market share by operator – 2012 – 2025
Chart 26 – Development of mobile service ARPU per month by operator – 2016 – 2025
Chart 27 – Change in the number of SK Telecom’s mobile subscribers by platform – 2012 – 2025
Chart 28 – Development of SK Telecom’s mobile service revenue – 2012 – 2025
Chart 29 – Change in SK Telecom’s mobile ARPU – 2015 – 2025
Chart 30 – Development of KT Corp’s mobile subscribers by platform – 2012 – 2025
Chart 31 – Change in the number of KT Corp’s own and MVNO mobile subscribers – 2018 – 2024
Chart 32 – Development of KT Corp’s mobile service revenue – 2012 – 2025
Chart 33 – Change in the number of LG U+ mobile subscribers – 2012 – 2025
Chart 34 – Change in the number of MVNO subscribers by operator – 2012 – 2025
Chart 35 – Change in the number of MVNO subscribers by technology – 2017 – 2025
Chart 36 – Growth in the number of fixed broadband subscribers and penetration – 2014 – 2028
Chart 37 – Change in the number of fixed broadband subscribers by platform – 2012 – 2025
Chart 38 – Change in the number of DSL broadband subscribers by operator – 2018 – 2025
Chart 39 – Change in the number of apartment LAN broadband subscribers by operator – 2018 – 2025
Chart 40 – Change in the number of fibre broadband subscribers by operator – 2018 – 2025
Chart 41 – Change in the number of cable broadband subscribers by operator – 2018 – 2025
Chart 42 – Change in the market share of broadband subscribers by operator – 2012 – 2025
Chart 43 – Increase in the number of KT‘s broadband subscribers – 2012 – 2025
Chart 44 – Change in the number of LG U+‘s broadband subscribers – 2012 – 2025
Chart 45 – Change in the number of SK Broadband’s fixed broadband subscribers – 2015 – 2025
Chart 46 – Decline in the number of KT Corp’s fixed voice lines – 2012 – 2025
Chart 47 – Development of KT Corp’s financial data – 2012 – 2025
Chart 48 – Change in the number of LG U+’s fixed-line subscribers – 2012 – 2025
Chart 49 – Development of LG U+’s financial data – 2012 – 2025
Chart 50 – Decline in the number of fixed lines in service and teledensity – 2014 – 2028
Chart 51 – Change in the number of fixed-wired and VoIP lines – 2016 – 2025

List of Exhibits

Exhibit 1 – Map of Telecom Maturity Index global ranking among countries in Asia
Exhibit 2 – Generalised Market Characteristics by Market Segment
Exhibit 3 – Asia – Market Leaders and market developments
Exhibit 4 – Asia – Market Challengers and market developments
Exhibit 5 – Asia – Market Emergents and market developments
Exhibit 6 – Map of South Korea
Exhibit 7 – Significant telcos in South Korea and their offers
Exhibit 8 – 5G spectrum auction results – July 2018
Exhibit 9 – Comparison of WiBro and mobile technologies in South Korea
Exhibit 10 – National submarine fibre cables overview in South Korea
Exhibit 11 – International submarine fibre optic cables overview in South Korea
Exhibit 12 – Interconnection status by IX

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South Korea Telecoms Market Report

Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Statistics and Analyses

Purchase this Report

South Korea to integrate satellites for its national 6G coverage

Key Developments

Key companies mentioned in this report:

Key statistics

Regional Asia market comparison

Country overview

Telecommunications market

Regulatory environment

Mobile market

Fixed-line broadband market

Fixed network operators

Telecommunications infrastructure

Data centres

Appendix – Historic data

Glossary of abbreviations

Related reports

Purchase this Report

Share this Report

TMT Intelligence

A platform to scale your intelligence tasks

Research Methodology

Hot Topics

News & Views