[Forbes Korea] Explosive Growth of OTT Services, Outdated Regulatory Framework

On April 28, 2025, Forbes Korea published a column by Attorney Jaewoo Kwak of Lee & Ko titled “The Explosive Growth of OTT Services, Outdated Regulatory Framework.” In the piece, Attorney Kwak explained that OTT services are currently regulated under the Promotion of the Motion Pictures and Video Products Act (Motion Pictures and Video Act) and the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection (Network Act), both of which are designed around traditional film and video distribution models. He pointed out that because OTT services are governed by the Network Act rather than the Broadcasting Act, they can distribute content after review by the Korea Media Rating Board or through internal standards without undergoing the rigorous scrutiny of the Korea Communications Commission. He stressed that as Korea’s video content industry increasingly competes on a global stage, legal and regulatory systems must evolve proactively rather than simply trying to fit OTT services into outdated frameworks.