223 Creators, 268 Videos: Inside Temu's Influencer Seeding the EU Just Fined
Key Takeaways
- · EU 집행위는 2026-05-29 테무에 약 3,200억원 과징금을 부과하며 인플루언서 기반 마케팅 프로그램의 관리 미흡을 지목했습니다.
- · Dhesy 데이터 기준 테무 협업 268편은 223명에게 흩어져 있고, 한 크리에이터당 최대 3편으로 집중이 거의 없습니다.
- · 협업은 브이로그·게임·예능 등 17개 카테고리에 전방위로 분포해, 톱 인플루언서 몰아주기가 아닌 넓고 얕은 마이크로 시딩 구조를 보입니다.
- · 30일 앱 삭제율 75.1%·과장광고 논란과 겹쳐 보면, 노출 극대화형 시딩이 신뢰 확보와 충돌하는 역설이 드러납니다.
If you watch YouTube, you have probably seen the moment: mid-video, a caption reading "new-member 130,000-won coupon pack" flashes alongside the Temu app screen. What looks like a plain coupon ad turns out to be the Korean version of a marketing strategy that regulators in Europe singled out for scrutiny.
What the EU Singled Out in Temu's Fine Was "Influencer Marketing"
On May 29, 2026, the European Commission fined Temu roughly KRW 320 billion. The headline reason was failure to curb illegal products, but the Commission flagged something else alongside it. According to Korean outlet Mega Economy and others, the Commission said Temu's recommendation algorithm and its "influencer-based marketing program" could expand the exposure and sale of illegal goods, yet the company's oversight system was inadequate. The deadline to submit a remediation plan was set for August 28.
An influencer strategy that most viewers only ever saw as YouTube ads had, overnight, landed at the center of a global regulatory issue. So what does that program actually look like on Korean YouTube?
Why Is Temu's YouTube Ad Always the Same Coupon Pack?
Most people picture the same scene for a Temu ad. Whatever the channel, the screen shows nearly the same offer: a new-member 130,000-won coupon pack, 90% off. Whether it is a mukbang channel or a gaming channel, the message repeats like a stencil.
This breeds a common assumption: that Temu ads are just cheap product placement, a coupon code handed to a few big influencers. It is a plausible hypothesis until you look at the actual distribution. But the data Dhesy collected contradicts that picture head-on.
The Distribution in Dhesy's Data: 268 Videos Spread Across 223 Creators
Based on Dhesy's data, from September 2025 through May 31, 2026, Temu collaborations captured 268 videos. The striking part is the number of participating channels: those 268 videos are spread across 223 creators. That averages just 1.2 videos per channel.
There is almost no trace of concentration on one person. In Dhesy's data, the maximum collaborations for a single creator caps at three. The channels with three include Jihani in entertainment, JOUNAIL in beauty, and The Man Who Reads Bicycles in hobby — a short list. They range from JOUNAIL with 1.38 million subscribers to channels with a few thousand.
크리에이터 1인당 테무 협업 편수 분포 (상위 협업 채널 기준)
* Source: Dhesy
The top view counts are not concentrated on a single giant either. In Dhesy's data, the most-watched Temu collaboration is a mukbang from Boki (Eat with Boki) at 1.54 million views.
A keyboard-discount Short from the gaming channel Meadow Hunter trails close behind at 1.52 million. Videos of different genres and formats sit shoulder to shoulder at similar view counts.
All 17 Categories — The Real Shape of "Wide and Shallow" Micro-Seeding
The spread does not stop at channel count. The collaborations touch 17 content categories: vlog 47, gaming 40, entertainment 27, hobby 25, food 19, and on down to parenting, education, and humanities with one or two each.
테무 협업 영상의 카테고리 분포 (Dhesy 데이터 기준, 2025-09 ~ 2026-05-31)
* Source: Dhesy
This is not a precision strike on one genre but a shallow sweep across every possible grain. Layer on the identical coupon-pack offer noted earlier. The same new-member benefit repeating regardless of channel character means a standardized seeding package is at work — one that does not redesign the message per video. Rather than investing deeply in one channel, it scatters a standard offer across many micro-channels to widen the exposure surface.
Some content carries the review itself as the ad, like Heavytalker's "A Korean's Foolproof Temu Review," while in other cases a household-goods coupon blends naturally into a self-interior video.
In format, long-form dominates. In Dhesy's data, of the 268 videos, 238 are regular videos and 30 are Shorts. The signal is that slotting the coupon offer into the flow of a video, rather than a brief impression, is the main approach.
How the Micro-Influencer Marketing the BBC Described Matches Korea's Measured Data
This "wide and shallow" distribution did not appear out of nowhere. Back in March 2024, a report citing BBC analysis summed up the key to Temu's growth this way: combining a structure that supplies niche-taste products at overwhelmingly low prices with micro-influencer marketing.
Domestic moves align with this. According to reports from Newsis and others in November 2025, Temu posted a job opening for an Influencer Marketing Manager in Korea and is building out its SNS and influencer organization in earnest. The direction leans on managing many small and mid-sized channels rather than relying on the clout of one mega-influencer. The 223-creator spread Dhesy measured on Korean YouTube overlaps precisely with this externally analyzed micro-seeding thesis.
The Trust Paradox — When You Overlay the 75.1% Deletion Rate and the Exaggerated-Ad Controversy
Widely scattered seeding is efficient for exposure. But reach does not automatically convert to loyalty.
According to Newsway, as of March 2026, Temu's 30-day app deletion rate was 75.1%. That means three of every four new installers deleted the app within a month. Around the same time, app-market reviews piled up complaints of exaggerated ads, bait promotions, and unpaid rewards. Some promotional emails omitted the "ad" label, drawing concerns of violating Korea's information network act.
Here the paradox surfaces. While seeding across 17 categories lifted new installs, trust drained out at the same pace. This is the point where an exposure-maximizing strategy collides with building trust.
After the EU's Remediation Deadline, Where Does the Seeding Strategy Go?
With the EU demanding a remediation plan by August 28, the influencer marketing program can no longer sit in a regulatory blind spot. At home, pressure over ad-disclosure obligations is rising too.
For anyone designing sponsorships, the lesson is clear. Quantitative dispersion — scattering a standard offer across many channels — ramps up short-term exposure fast, but reach without disclosure transparency and content fit easily comes back as a trust cost. In the coming quarter, with regulatory pressure compounding, Temu's seeding may shift from "wide and shallow" quantitative dispersion toward transparent disclosure and verified channels.
테무 협업 영상의 형식 (Dhesy 데이터 기준 268편)
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. How many Korean YouTubers has Temu collaborated with?
Based on Dhesy's data, from September 2025 through May 31, 2026, 268 videos were tallied as Temu collaborations, involving 223 creators. These are figures within Dhesy's collected scope and do not represent Temu's total collaborations.
Q. Are Temu's collaborations concentrated on specific large YouTubers?
No. In Dhesy's data, the maximum collaborations per creator is three, and the per-channel average is about 1.2. Dispersion across many channels is clear rather than concentration.
Q. Across which content categories are Temu's collaborations spread?
They span 17 categories in total, including vlog 47, gaming 40, entertainment 27, and hobby 25. The structure is spread across the board rather than concentrated in one genre.
Q. Why did the EU fine Temu?
On May 29, 2026, the European Commission imposed a fine of about KRW 320 billion for failing to curb illegal products, and also flagged inadequate oversight of its recommendation algorithm and influencer-based marketing program. The remediation deadline is August 28.
Q. What is the 30-day deletion rate of the Temu app?
According to reports, as of March 2026 Temu's 30-day app deletion rate was 75.1%, meaning three of every four new installers deleted the app within a month.
Methodology: Based on Temu collaboration data collected by the Dhesy platform. Analysis period: 2025-09-01 to 2026-05-31. Collaboration counts, creator counts, and category distribution are all figures within Dhesy's collected scope and do not represent total collaborations. Data source: Dhesy External sources: Mega Economy (EU fine), Newsis (Influencer Marketing Manager hiring), The PR (BBC-cited micro-influencer analysis), Newsway (75.1% 30-day deletion rate) Last updated: 2026-06-03