The number of one-person media creators, such as YouTubers, has surged nearly 20-fold in the past five years, raising concerns about the need for increased tax scrutiny.

According to data released by Rep. Chung Il-young of the Democratic Party of Korea from the National Tax Service, the total income reported by 24,797 one-person media creators in 2023 was 1.7861 trillion won.

The top 1% of earners, 247 individuals, accounted for 18.3% of the total income, with an average annual income of 1.325 billion won per person. This represents a 35.5% increase from the average income of the top 1% in 2019, which was 978 million won.

The top 10% of earners, 2,479 individuals, accounted for 50.3% of the total income, with an average annual income of 362 million won per person.

The number of one-person media creators has increased dramatically in recent years, from 1,327 in 2019 to 24,797 in 2023. This represents a nearly 19-fold increase in just five years.

Despite the rapid growth in the number of creators and their income, the number of tax audits conducted on them has remained relatively stagnant. From 2019 to 2023, a total of 67 tax audits were conducted on one-person media creators. The number of audits actually decreased from 24 in 2022 to 21 in 2023.

Rep. Chung called for stronger tax investigations into one-person media creators, citing the rapid increase in their income and the relatively low number of tax audits conducted on them.

This news highlights the growing importance of one-person media creators in the Korean economy, as well as the challenges of regulating and taxing this rapidly evolving industry.