Last year, the total number of startups in South Korea was counted at 1,182,905. This is a decline of 4.5% (55,712) compared to 2023. It is interpreted that the economic slowdown both domestically and internationally, combined with high interest rates, high exchange rates, and high prices, which led to a contraction in consumption, along with the continuation of low birth rates and aging, adversely affected startups.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced this information in the '2024 Startup Company Trends' on the 28th.
By industry, startups in retail and wholesale (7.1%), accommodation and food services (7.7%), real estate (8.6%), information and communication (9.8%), manufacturing (5.9%), arts, sports, and leisure (6.1%), and construction (1.7%) decreased. This was influenced by high interest rates, real estate stagnation, rising raw material prices, and domestic economic slowdown.
On the other hand, personal services related to caregiving (8.0%) increased due to rising demand for elderly and child care. Startups in personal services (8.0%), professional and scientific technical services (2.5%), and business facility management (3.0%) also increased due to rising demand for building management and cleaning, changes in the advertising market paradigm (diversification of channels) driven by short-form commerce, over-the-top (OTT) services, and retail media, as well as base effects.
By age group, all age ranges except those aged 60 and over saw a decrease in startups. Those under 30 saw a decline of 12.9%, those in their 30s experienced a decline of 7.0%, those in their 40s saw a reduction of 6.0%, those in their 50s decreased by 1.3%, and those aged 60 and over saw a decrease of 4.6%.
Meanwhile, last year, the annual number of technology-based startups was 214,917, marking a decrease of 2.9% (6,519) compared to the previous year. However, the share of technology-based startups in the total number of startups increased by 0.3 percentage points compared to the previous year, reaching an all-time high.