About 4,000 YouTubers in Korea earn more than 100 million won a year.
According to data on YouTuber income for tax years 2021–2023 submitted by lawmaker Cha Kyu-geun of the Rebuilding Korea Party, a member of the Strategy and Finance Committee of the National Assembly, to the National Tax Service on the 15th, the number of YouTubers whose total income exceeds 100 million won was 4,011 as of the 2023 tax year.
The number of YouTubers whose annual income exceeds 100 million won was 2,449 in 2021 and 3,359 in 2022. That is a 63.8% increase in two years.
As of 2023, among YouTubers with annual income over 100 million won, 2,088 were men and 1,923 were women. Among the men, 1,065 were in their 30s, 513 were in their 40s, and 308 were under 30. Among the women, 896 were in their 30s, 772 were under 30, and 171 were in their 40s.
The total number of people who reported income as YouTubers was 24,673 as of 2023. That is up 52.0% from 16,228 in 2021.
The total income amount reported by YouTubers increased 64.9%, from 1.078242 trillion won in 2021 to 1.177838 trillion won.
Lawmaker Cha Kyu-geun said, "The industry is diversifying, and the number of filers and the amount of income are increasing every year," and added, "As the National Tax Service has said it will conduct tax audits when it detects suspected tax evasion by YouTubers who do not file properly under the pretext of donations and other support, please crack down thoroughly so that no tax blind spots occur."