The expert cited Digital News Report 2016 published by the institute, which is based on a survey of over 50,000 online news consumers in 26 countries, including the United States and South Korea. Google is one of the sponsors of the institute.

The report suggests that news organizations and publishers across the world are facing unprecedented levels of disruption to business models and formats from a combination of more social platforms and general moves toward mobile devices.

"In South Korea, the media is characterized by strong broadcasters, a newspaper sector struggling to adapt to digital change, along with powerful Korean-owned online portals, social networks and messaging applications," according to the report.

"Forty-four percent of the respondents in 26 countries said they use Facebook as a source of news," he said, adding that more and more people use platforms, such as social media, than go directly to websites of news organizations or media outlets.

"But it is different in (South) Korea as Facebook dominates 24 percent, while Kakao Talk dominates 22 percent," he said. Kakao Talk is the country's most popular mobile messenger with 38 million users out of a 51 million population.

Nielsen also highlighted that South Korea is unique in the way people check news.

"Compared with other markets, South Korea is a developed market in which searches are significantly more important than in other countries," he said.

More than 60 percent of the respondents in South Korea said they used "searches" to come across news stories, compared with 30 percent in the U.S. and 38 percent in Japan.

"On-year growth of using smartphones to check the news shows no signs of slowing down," according to the report. "Smartphone news access is higher than computer access in South Korea, Switzerland and Sweden."

The expert said South Korea, one of the most mobile-centered markets, is clearly leading the market in terms of smartphone usage.

In South Korea, 48 percent of the respondents said they use smartphones as the main device to access news, followed by 41 percent for computers and tablets accounting for only 4 percent.

He also cited the rise of platforms is not only a challenge but also can serve as an opportunity for news organizations.

"Media organizations have to face that their revenues will be smaller than in the 1990s. There is no solution for this problem," he said. "It is important to understand the point of view of journalists and users."

The doctor advised media groups to transform themselves as a "multi-product" company so that they can adapt better to different technology and changes to the overall media environment. (Yonhap)