Policy responses to the rise of global OTT platforms in Korea

Abstract The outbreak of COVID-19 and subsequent social distancing measures sparked a surge in demand and unprecedented growth opportunities for OTT (over-the-top) services. Despite the need to foster Korea’s domestic media and cultural industry, the Korean government has almost failed to properly operate OTT policies and the opportunity went to global operators. Although Korea’s content competitiveness has advanced to a global level, local OTTs continue to lag Netflix. This is not a concern confined to Korea. This paper identifies the focal actors of Korea’s local OTT platforms, analyzes the developmental phases of the Korean OTT market, and draws policy-related and industrial implications by ascertaining, which factors hinder local OTT services from achieving their desired development, within the context of the actor-network theory. This paper offers a fresh perspective on the policy responses to the rise of global OTT platforms and the downturn of local OTT platforms in Korea.