Elderly viewers increasingly prefer YouTube news. (Image courtesy of Pixabay)
SEOUL, June 18 (Korea Bizwire) – In South Korea, older and more conservative citizens are increasingly turning to YouTube as their primary source of news, while younger and progressive users appear to be migrating away from the platform, according to the Digital News Report 2025 published by the Korea Press Foundation in partnership with the Reuters Institute at Oxford University.
Survey data released Tuesday showed that 61% of South Koreans in their 50s and 53% of those over 60 consume news on YouTube—far surpassing the usage rates among people in their 20s (44%), 30s (32%), and 40s (48%).
Compared to the previous year, YouTube news consumption among people in their 50s rose by 9 percentage points, while it fell by 6 and 15 points for those in their 20s and 30s, respectively.
Political orientation also played a key role. Conservative users reported the highest rate of YouTube news consumption at 63%, compared to 51% for moderates and 43% for progressives.
This marks a 5-point increase among conservatives and a sharp 9-point drop among progressives since 2024—potentially signaling a platform shift among left-leaning audiences.
Despite the widespread use of digital platforms, overall trust in news among South Koreans remains low. Just 31% of respondents said they trust the news in general—ranking South Korea 37th out of 48 countries surveyed. The global average stands at 40%.
Korea Press Foundation – Reuters Journalism Institute Online Survey (January 15 – February 14, 2025) (Image courtesy of the Korea Press Foundation’s publication Media Survey)
Trust in one’s own news sources is slightly higher, holding steady at 39%—an 8-point gap that has persisted for several years. “Korean news consumers tend to distrust the media broadly but express relatively higher trust in the specific outlets they choose,” the foundation noted.
Among individual outlets, MBC led with a 61% trust rating, followed closely by JTBC at 59%, both rising 4 percentage points from last year.
The report also highlighted South Korea’s continued reliance on search engines and news aggregators—used by 63% of respondents to access digital news—second only to Japan globally. However, this dependency has declined from 76% in 2019, while social media as a news gateway rose from 9% to 19% during the same period.
Notably, direct visits to news websites or apps remain rare in Korea, accounting for just 6%—tied with Thailand for the lowest among all countries surveyed. In Finland, by contrast, direct access stands at 65%.
The findings underscore structural challenges facing South Korean media outlets in building trust and loyalty.
Overall, the proportion of people consuming news through YouTube has been steadily increasing.(image: Pixabay)
“Though reliance on portals is waning, it’s not translating into direct engagement with news organizations. Instead, the audience is dispersing across social media,” the foundation concluded, urging local news providers to strengthen their digital presence and invest in subscriber strategies.
The report was based on an online survey conducted by YouGov between January 15 and February 14, 2025. A full Korean-language edition will be published in October.
Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)
