Ookla puts Korea 22nd in home broadband and 6th in mobile at almost the same speed

The two speeds are almost the same. Korea's fixed median is 251.33 Mbps and its mobile median 250.56 Mbps, a difference of 0.77 Mbps ^[1][3][13], yet the two rankings sit 16 places apart ^[4]. What separates them is how crowded each table is near that number. On fixed lines Portugal is 0.42 Mbps ahead of Korea and Canada 6.55 Mbps ahead ^[2][14][15], and the 14 places between Korea and eighth-placed Vietnam fit inside 50.15 Mbps, about 3.6 Mbps a rank ^[5][16][17]. On mobile, only five countries are faster ^[3].

In our view that supports a narrower claim than a Korean slide at home: Korea is 22nd in a fixed-line table that is bunched between 8th and 22nd place, and 6th in a mobile table where five countries sit above it. It does not show a trend. Seoul Economic Daily says Korea ranked first on average connection speed in Akamai's State of the Internet report in 2017 ^[22] and sets that against today's 22nd place, but it describes the Ookla figure as a median ^[18]. An average from one firm in 2017 and a median from another in 2026 are different statistics.

Korea's Ministry of Science and ICT disputes the table ^[10]. It said Ookla does not disclose test counts per country, the plan types evaluated or the distribution of measured speeds ^[12], and that "This limits the reliability of objective comparisons between countries." ^[11] The ministry's own results from last year's assessment are 91.91 Mbps on 100 Mbps plans, 496.05 Mbps on 500 Mbps plans and 987.7 Mbps on 1 Gbps plans ^[19], or 91.9%, 99.2% and 98.8% of the rated speed ^[21]. It called those figures significantly different from Ookla's 251.33 Mbps ^[20].

A delivery rate against a purchased tier and a national median across voluntary tests, some of them run over Wi-Fi on phones ^[6][7], answer different questions, and the reports do not break out the plan types that would reconcile them. The ministry's complaint about undisclosed samples has force at a 0.42 Mbps margin to Portugal ^[14]; setting a tier result beside a median does not.

The counter-reading is simpler and may be right: Korea did fall behind at home. Seoul Economic Daily reports that Vietnam's fixed speed was one-sixth of Korea's in 2015 ^[23] and is now 20% faster ^[8]. It attributes the reversal to Vietnam and Thailand putting recent investment into replacing fiber-optic cable and expanding 5G, against a Korean network built in the early 2000s and slow to upgrade, according to analysts it did not name ^[24]. Seoul is 34th at 238.69 Mbps, behind Bangkok at 321.90 Mbps ^[9]. The reports describe the ministry's response as a challenge to Ookla's method ^[10].

Two pieces of data would change our view: a wired-only comparison, or Korea's Ookla ranks for earlier months. Korea near the top on either would turn 22nd into a Wi-Fi and sampling artifact. Korea at or near 22nd for years would leave the ministry's method objection beside the point. The reports also disagree on the month: JoongAng Daily dates the 251.33 Mbps figure to September ^[1], while Seoul Economic Daily's text says August ^[18].