[Reporter’s Notebook] One Day Before Twitch's Withdrawal: What Has It Left Behind in Korea?

The scheduled date for Twitch's withdrawal from the Korean market is just one day away.

Twitch's sudden announcement brought the issue of 'network usage fees,' which was previously a contractual matter between Content Providers (CP) and Internet Service Providers (ISP), to the forefront. The company cited the reason for its withdrawal as the domestic network usage fees being ten times higher than those in overseas countries, resulting in high operational costs. Streamers held emergency broadcasts in response to the abrupt announcement and deliberated on countermeasures with users.

However, Twitch has not provided any evidence to support these claims even until the day before its withdrawal. They refuse to disclose the network usage fee figures, citing confidentiality obligations in the contractual process between businesses. Twitch also did not submit data despite requests from the Korea Communications Commission (KCC). Regardless of objective figures, the continued operation of its competitor AfreecaTV and the new market entry of Naver's 'Chijijik' further undermine the credibility of Twitch's claims. Twitch has also remained silent regarding the Korea Telecommunications Operators Association (KTOA), whose three member telecom companies claim the withdrawal is due to 'management failure.'

Nevertheless, the discussion on network usage fees is undoubtedly an issue that must be addressed. Streamers who have generated revenue based on Twitch faced sudden layoffs due to the network usage fee issue. Users had to endure forced service discontinuation. Although users can move to other platforms, various variables such as user attrition and entry barriers during this transition must be considered. Especially as we move into an AI era generating even more traffic, if proper discussions do not start now, disputes over network usage fees between operators are likely to intensify.

On the 23rd, the KCC imposed fines of 435 million KRW and 15 million KRW respectively on Twitch for suspending its VOD service (customized video service) and failing to implement technical measures to prevent the distribution of illegal recordings. The decision to take such measures just four days before Twitch's withdrawal was driven by the overarching principle of user protection. Now, beyond user protection, it is time to prioritize industry protection as a fundamental principle and engage in realistic and practical discussions on reasonable network usage fee calculations and cost-sharing methods. At the very least, we must not face another case where the entire industry suffers under the pretext of 'network usage fees.'

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