[Digital Times, Kim Soo-yeon] Global Internet major corporations are starting to attack the Korean local Internet content market. There is growing concern that the entire Internet market, including content such as video and music, may be taken over by foreign companies.

According to the industry on May 20, YouTube has strengthened the music streaming service that emphasized the strength of the video and threw it at the local music source site. Melon is leading the domestic music service market with 62%, followed by Genie, Mnet.com and Bugs. Despite, there are overseas services such as `Apple Music` the influence in Korea is minimal.

YouTube has grown to the point where it threatens domestic portals such as Naver and Kakao by occupying 73% of the Korean Internet video market. This time, it has begun to expand influence to the music source market. YouTube is expected to soon replace YouTube Red, which was released only in five countries including Korea, to YouTube Premium. The service will be available for USD 11.99 a month. However, it will remain at its current price of KRW 7,900 per month in Korea alone. YouTube Red is a premium service that adds its own video to free YouTube music. A related official of YouTube said, "In the case of the Korean market, we decided to keep the existing price because of the consumer reaction." It is understood that the price of unlimited music streaming service of Melon, which is a strong player in the Korean market, is KRW 7,900 per month.

Meanwhile, YouTube will also launch its first large-scale update of the YouTube Music App, a free music video service. It updated the search function so that even a part of the lyrics was searched. On the same day, `YouTube Music Premium`, which subtracts ads from YouTube music apps, will be available for USD 9.99 a month (about KRW 10,769). The service will be shown first in the US, Australia, New Zealand and Mexico and will soon be available in Korea.

Netflix is also in full swing into the Korean market. The company is the world`s largest online video service provider with 125 million members in 190 countries. Netflix has recently opened its Korea office in Gwanghwamun as its first step toward realizing the Korean market. Last year, in partnership with cable TV operators D Live and CJ Hello and it started offering content, and recently we started discussions with LG U plus, an IPTV operator. Netflix is also speeding up the production and distribution of original content in Korea, such as `Okja`, a global hit, and `Criminal just you!`The company plans to invest USD 8 billion in content globally this year.

Google, on the other hand, is also stepping up efforts to grab Korean portals. Google put the news on the first page of the mobile page as Naver and Kakao decided to subtract news from the controversy. It features news that AI recommends. Google`s Android market accounts for 74% of the domestic smartphone operating system market, so the use of new services will spread rapidly.

The so called global Internet dinosaurs are in a state of crisis in the domestic Internet industry. An industry expert said, "Global Internet companies are leaping into content distribution, production and distribution as well as huge capital and network." Domestic companies are becoming more and more dependent on reverse discrimination and regulation. We are going to overseas companies. "


By Kim Soo Yeon newsnews@


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