YouTube Premium Lite to launch in South Korea: Unbundling music from its Premium plan
Google plans to launch YouTube Premium Lite following South Korea’s antitrust concerns, potentially reshaping the country’s music streaming landscape.
YouTube shaking things up in South Korea
Big changes could be coming to YouTube Premium in South Korea. Following an antitrust investigation by the country’s Fair Trade Commission (FTC), YouTube is reportedly planning to launch YouTube Premium Lite in South Korea. This move could either see YouTube Music unbundled from its standard Premium subscription, or an additional lower tier subscription offered without YouTube Music.
Why the FTC is getting involved
Last year, South Korea’s FTC began investigating Google Korea over concerns that bundling YouTube Music with YouTube Premium was unfairly hindering local streaming services. The FTC focused on the argument that YouTube was using its dominant market position to steer users toward its own music service at the expense of domestic alternatives.
As part of ongoing negotiations, the FTC is negotiating a ‘consent decision’ with Google Korea. This would allow them to end their investigation if Google proposes a suitable remedy. According to Korean JoongAng Daily, that remedy appears to be the introduction of YouTube Premium Lite.
What is YouTube Premium Lite?
YouTube previously tested Premium Lite in 2021, but discontinued it last year. YouTube have since relaunched the stripped-down plan in the US, Australia, Germany, and Thailand. The Lite version offers a middle-ground subscription between the free and Premium experience. It gives subscribers ad-free YouTube viewing at roughly half the price (around $7.99 in the US, compared to $13.99 for full Premium), without access to YouTube Music, offline downloads, and background play.
Whether YouTube will remove YouTube Music from Premium, and/or offer this Lite alternative remains to be seen.
What this means for Korea’s music streaming market
This change could significantly shake up the Korean music streaming market. According to the Korean Creative Content Agency, many users only access YouTube Music through the bundled service. As a result, domestic platforms have experienced a steady decline in market share since YouTube began bundling its music service with Premium in 2020.
An anonymous source from a domestic platform
As of February 2025, YouTube Music was the leading music streaming service in South Korea with 7.24 million monthly active users (MAUs), according to Mobile Index. This massively outperformed major domestic platforms like Melon (6.77 MAUs), Genie, Flo, Vibe, Bugs, and even Spotify.
Looking ahead
Korean music services will be hoping that this change could help platforms regain lost ground. Users who only previously migrated because of the bundled YouTube service may now reconsider if a cheaper YouTube subscription is available without music.
However, there’s also concern that more pricing options could further assert YouTube’s grip on the market.
An anonymous industry observer
Whether this new subscription model helps rebalance Korea’s music streaming economy or further tilts the scales in YouTube’s favour is yet to be seen. For now, all eyes are on the FTC to consider how Google decides to move forward.