The number of subscribers to mobile network services in South Korea is set to top a landmark 60 million by the end of 2016, industry sources said Friday, hovering far above the country's population.

The outlook came as the number of those with mobile network accounts, including those for wearable devices, reached 59 million as of end-February, according to the latest data compiled by the Ministry of Science, ICT, and Future Planning.

As South Korea's population currently stands around 51.5 million, the figure indicates that an increasing number of people have more than one mobile account.

In February alone, the number of new mobile-network subscribers shot up 189,585 on-month, with 70,270 of them being wearable and other Internet-of-Things service users.

The number of combined smartphone users in South Korea came to 44.1 million, up 267,446 on-month, while that of traditional handsets shed 150,965 to 9.66 million. (Yonhap)