Following a 1.4% decline in 2020 primarily due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the total mobile services revenue in South Korea will recover in 2021 and reach US$25.2bn in 2025. It is set to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.2% between 2020-2025, driven by the steady growth in both mobile data and mobile voice service revenues, according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

GlobalData’s South Korea Telecom Operators Country Intelligence Report forecasts that mobile data service revenue will increase at a healthy CAGR of 5.9% over the forecast period, mainly driven by the anticipated growth in the adoption of higher-ARPU 5G services. Mobile voice service revenues, on the other hand, will increase at a CAGR of 4% over the forecast period.

Aasif Iqbal, Telecom Analyst at GlobalData, says: “Though 4G will be the leading mobile technology in South Korea, by subscription share until 2024, 5G subscriptions will surpass 4G subscriptions in 2025 and account for 50.4% share of the total mobile subscriptions by the end of 2025. This growth will be primarily supported by the efforts of telcos and the government to boost 5G infrastructure in the country.

“SK Telecom will lead the mobile services market in South Korea in terms of mobile subscriptions in 2020, followed by KT. SK Telecom will retain its leading position through 2025 primarily driven by its strong focus on M2M/IoT segment and 5G network expansion.”