TikTok to ease monetization in Korea, streamline sponsorship system

TikTok will lower the eligibility threshold and obligations for its Creator Rewards program and create a hub to connect sponsors and creators in the fourth quarter.

Jung Jae-hoon, head of TikTok Korea’s operations, speaks at a press event in Seongdong District, eastern Seoul. [TIKTOK]

TikTok has softened its own regulations for creators in Korea, making it easier for them to monetize their accounts.

The platform’s Creator Rewards program, previously available to uploaders with over 50,000 followers, will have a lower threshold of more than 10,000 followers starting in the fourth quarter of this year.

The program rewards creators who upload videos longer than 1 minute based on content originality, duration, search value and user engagement.

Creator qualifications for TikTok’s subscription feature, formerly known as Live Subscription, were expanded from Monday to include creators who do not engage in livestreams. However, those who wish to make their account eligible for subscription must meet the minimum standards of more than 10,000 followers and accumulated monthly views of over 100,000.

The platform will also launch TikTok One in Korea, a hub for marketers to access clusters of creators more easily. The program is scheduled to launch in the fourth quarter of this year.

“Brands will be able to propose campaigns or sponsorship programs in this marketplace hub, and creators can sign up for the promotions that they want,” said Jung Jae-hoon, head of TikTok Korea’s operations at the press event in Seongdong District, eastern Seoul. “Similar programs have existed before, but this new feature integrates all the prior functions, and we anticipate that this will lead to more active collaboration between creators and brands.”

The social media giant, owned by China's ByteDance, is gaining a foothold in the domestic market, proving to be popular among younger generations in their teens and 20s but light on users from older generations.

However, experts have raised concerns about the platform's conformity to domestic laws on personal information protection as well as a potential leakage of Korean user data to China, as it is difficult to view privacy policy terms when signing up for TikTok and TikTok Lite.

The platform also lacks separate consent for the use of personal data for marketing purposes.

When pressed for answers related to the concerns, company officials simply replied that the platform "complies to the laws of countries where TikTok is launched" and "reviews any government requests accordingly."

TikTok Korea is hosting a pop-up event in Seongdong District until Sept. 30 for its platform creators and users, and is also reaching out to nonusers to help them better understand the TikTok ecosystem. The event will feature various programs, including educational sessions for creators, photo zones and fan meet-and-greets with influencers.

BY LEE JAE-LIM [lee.jaelim@joongang.co.kr]