Netflix Ends '30-Day Free Trial' in South Korea... Will Prices Also Increase?

[Asia Economy Reporter Seulgina Jo] Netflix is eliminating its free trial service in South Korea that allowed users to watch without paying for a month.

According to the IT industry on the 7th, the online video service (OTT) Netflix ended its '30-day free trial' promotion in South Korea as of 3 a.m. that day.

This comes more than five years after officially launching its service in South Korea in January 2016.

Netflix's 30-day free trial allowed new members to cancel their membership within one month of signing up without being charged. Starting with Mexico in 2019, the free trial was gradually discontinued and was halted in the United States last October.

This move is interpreted as a step to strengthen Netflix's profitability. Recently, Netflix has been raising prices in various countries worldwide. Last October, it increased the standard and premium plans by 7.7% and 12.5%, respectively, in the United States, and in February of this year, it raised prices in Japan as well.

A price increase in South Korea is expected soon. Currently, domestic prices range from 9,500 to 14,500 KRW per month.

Additionally, Netflix is testing a feature to restrict account sharing when family members or cohabitants are not involved.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so-called stay-at-home demand surged, and Netflix's global paid subscriber count surpassed 200 million by the end of last year. In South Korea, the number of users exceeded 1,000 as of the end of February, estimated to have more than doubled in the past year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.