According to the Digital News Report from Reuters, the Coronavirus crisis has impacted the news industry worldwide, decreasing the sales of printed newspapers and boosting new business models such as subscriptions and memberships. Overall, the industry has seen many losses due to the global economic downturn and yet, this crisis has shown the value of accurate and reliable information. On average, the trust in the news has grown by about 9% since the pandemic.
Digital Media Landscape in 2025
In the case of South Korea, trust in news media increased after the outbreak of COVID-19, though they have since stabilized with 31% reporting in 2024 they trust the news most of the time. This is still higher than pre-pandemic, where only around 22% reported they trust the news. While news consumption in the country increased during the pandemic, it has since been on a steady decline across all channels. However, when Koreans do consume the news, it is usually through online sources like Naver News Portal or sites like YouTube.
Source: Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism 2024
A survey by the Korea Press Foundation found that 72% of participants had increased their news usage over the last few years. Other services, such as OTT streaming services like YouTube Premium and Netflix, have also grown and we can see the tendency of Korean consumers to be willing to pay for a mix of diverse content.
However, media outlets are still struggling bounce back financially after the pandemic. Broadcasting, print, and other media decreased by about 5 percent, the COVID-19 pandemic had the greatest impact on outdoor media, that sector seeing a decrease of around 21.2 percent.
In the online media, few people are willing to pay a subscription just for news since in South Korea online portals offer very convenient news packages of free news from multiple publishers. Also, in 2020 Naver announced they would be switching back to an advertising revenue share model with an additional subscription-based model for premium content.
Social Media for News Composition in 2025
YouTube remains the most widely used platform for Korean users, but KakaoTalk, Facebook and Instagram are emerging as fresh news sources. Also notable is the increased industry focus on email newsletters, with a variety of new services from start-ups to mainstream media companies, even if usage levels remain low.
Source: Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism 2024
The Overall Advertising Market trend
The total advertising spending in 2025 is estimated to reach $17.31 billion USD (Statista). Among the media that showed a decline this year, broadcasting and print media maintained their declining trends. However, outdoor, and other media are expected to shift into a growth model. In addition, ad spending in digital advertising is projected to reach $8.09 billion USD, a 4.93% increase from 2024 (Statista).
The rapid growth of mobile advertising was particularly evident online. In 2022, around $4.69 billion USD was spent on mobile advertising, with a 10.3% annual forecasted increase.
