As the top 1,000 South Korean companies move their ad dollars online, the internet advertising business in South Korea will hit $1.04 billion in 2007, according to keyword advertising company Korea Overture.

The company predicts that online advertising will jump 15.2% over 2006, even as the total overall advertising market tops out at $7.7 billion. Overture points to keyword advertising, which accounts for $654.6 million, 60% of the total online ad market.

“The keyword ads business will chalk up a 21.5% growth this year. The segment will rack up notable expansion beyond next year,” said a spokesperson for Overture Korea as quoted in the Korea Times. “New types of keyword ads such as video-based ones are also sparking interest.”

With 35 million internet users, South Korea makes up the fourth-largest online audience after the US, UK and Japan. Much of the online advertising growth comes from large portals like Overture partner NHN, which handles 75% of Korean search queries. The second-place portal, run by Google partner Daum Communications, recently released keyword-powered video advertising.

Source: www.adotas.com