Korean web browsers increase market share in May

[Graphics by Song Ji-yoon and Minu Kim]

South Korea’s Samsung Internet and Naver Whale saw a notable rise in their May 2024 market share, with Naver Whale surpassing the 10 percent mark for the first time since its launch.

Google Chrome had the biggest South Korean web browser market share in May at 51.92 percent, followed by Samsung Internet at 17.18 percent, Apple Safari at 12.27 percent, Naver Whale at 10.05 percent, and Microsoft Edge at 6.8 percent, according to web traffic analytics site StatCounter.

Samsung Internet saw an increase of 4.5 percentage points compared to the previous month, while Naver Whale rose by 1.88 percentage points. Although Google Chrome continues to dominate the market with around a 50 percent share, it saw a decline of 3.76 percentage points, which Samsung Internet and Naver Whale absorbed. Similarly, Microsoft Edge, another browser from outside the country, saw a decrease of 3.62 percentage points during the same period.

The rise in Samsung Internet’s market share is attributable to the influence of the ‘Galaxy AI’ features. Galaxy AI, currently available in the Samsung Internet app, offers browsing assistance functions such as summarizing or translating web pages. These features were initially introduced with the Galaxy S24 series smartphones in January 2024, expanded to the Galaxy S23 series in March, and further extended to the Galaxy S22 series in May.

While it has yet to make significant strides in web AI, Naver Whale has focused on expanding its browser extension ecosystem and targeting the business-to-business market. The browser has been making inroads in the education sector with the ‘Whalebook,’ which comes pre-installed with the Naver Whale operating system. It also offers ‘Whale Enterprise,’ a browser that is tailored for corporate and institutional use.