Korea's high-speed Internet penetration rate (the number of broadband subscriptions per 100 citizens) exceeded 30% for the first time in late September.

According to the data released by Korea's Ministry of Information and Communication and the local telecommunication industry Thursday (Nov. 8), the penetration rate reached 29.97% in August and 30.11% in September.

In January this year, 28.95% of the population had high-speed Internet access, and the percentage has risen consecutively for the past eight months.

By region, Seoulites topped the list with 35.6% penetration, while 31.8% of Incheon and 31% of Gyeonggi-do residents on average had access to the service. Daejeon and Ulsan tied for fourth with 29.9%, followed by Gwangju (29.1%), Daegu (29%), and Busan (28.6%).

Meanwhile, the average penetration rate by household increased to 90.1% in September from 89.7% a month earlier.

The household penetration of Seoul reached 107.8% and Gyeonggi-do and Incheon followed with 102.6% and 101.1%, respectively, with several families choosing to subscribe to more than one line.