Despite a sluggish domestic economy, advertising spending by South Korean companies increased 1.5 percent last year on the back of rapidly growing mobile ads, industry data showed Tuesday.

According to the data compiled by Cheil Worldwide, South Korea's largest ad agency, local companies spent a total of 10.88 trillion won ($9.42 billion) on advertisements last year. 

Advertisements in cable TV networks increased 5 percent on-year to 1.87 trillion won, while that for terrestrial TV stations declined 16 percent to 1.66 trillion won, it said.

Once regarded as uncharted territory, mobile ad spending is estimated at 1.75 trillion won last year, soaring 36 percent on-year, the largest growth among sectors checked.

Marketers have shifted to the mobile platform in droves to grab the attention of users of smartphones and other ubiquito gadgets.

Mobile ads have also evolved by taking advantage of the latest technology, combining their content with social media and location-based services to better target customers.

Ads in newspapers fell 2 percent on-year to 1.47 trillion won, while that in magazines also dropped 9.3 percent to 378 billion won, it said.

PC advertisements also shed 4.9 percent to 164 trillion won, it added.

The country's ad market is expected to grow 2.6 percent this year to 11.16 trillion won, Cheil Worldwide forecast. (Yonhap)