SpaceX’s satellite internet service Starlink launched in South Korea on Thursday, opening nationwide residential and enterprise subscriptions and marking the country’s official entry into the low Earth orbit, or LEO, broadband era.
Service sign-ups began through Starlink Korea’s website, with the residential plan priced at 87,000 won ($59) per month, offering unlimited data and expected speeds of 135 megabits per second for downloads and 40 Mbps for uploads. Hardware installation is priced at 550,000 won.
But analysts say Starlink’s real business opportunity in Korea lies beyond homes. With Korea already boasting one of the world’s fastest terrestrial networks — LTE averaged 179 Mbps in government tests — LEO satellite internet is viewed as a complementary solution where ground infrastructure cannot reach.
A major push is expected in maritime, aviation and emergency response, where existing satellite services remain costly and slower. Korea ranks fifth globally in commercial shipping capacity, yet many vessels struggle with real-time data communication at sea. LEO networks reduce latency by flying closer to Earth than traditional geostationary satellites, improving connectivity for ships and aircraft.
Starlink’s business offering targets land-based mobile and fixed commercial use. Tiered plans range from 50 gigabytes for 90,000 won per month to 2 terabytes for 755,000 won. Additional data can be purchased separately. The plans include service-level guarantees and bandwidth prioritization, offering a maximum 1 Mbps download and 0.5 Mbps upload speed once data caps are exceeded.
Local partners SK Telink and KT Sat will provide sales and support, while developing sector-specific offerings for vessels, low-cost carriers and government agencies.
LEO systems are also gaining attention in disaster-resilience infrastructure. Because satellites are unaffected by damage to base stations, they can maintain communications during outages in remote or mountainous regions, according to the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute.
“Rather than a replacement, this is the start of a multilayered communications architecture that merges terrestrial and satellite networks,” said Song Young-geun, head of future strategy at ETRI.
Globally, Starlink operates more than 7,600 satellites and serves over 8 million users across 115 countries.
mjh@heraldcorp.com
