Last year, total sales of Korea's venture corporations were tallied at 236 trillion won. Average sales per corporation were 6.68 billion won, up 140 million won from a year earlier. The average operating profit was 40 million won, and it was found to have turned to a surplus.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) on the 28th released the results of the "Venture Corporations Detailed Survey" and the "Social Venture Status Survey," targeting 38,216 venture-certified corporations and 3,259 social venture corporations as of 2024.
To mark the 30th anniversary of ventures in Korea, this survey comprehensively reviews about four years of changes since the venture corporation certification system, fully overhauled under private-sector leadership in 2021, took root in the field.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) assessed that the total sales of domestic venture corporations rank third in the business world after Samsung Group (332 trillion won) and Hyundai Motor Group (280 trillion won), meaning the venture corporation sector has established itself as an independent industrial pillar.
Employment scale also surpassed that of large corporate groups. Venture corporations employed 828,378 people, more than about 82,000 higher than the number of regular employees at the four major groups—Samsung, Hyundai Motor, LG, and SK—(about 746,000). It means venture corporations are responsible for a pillar of domestic employment.
The ratio of research and development (R&D) to sales for venture corporations was 6.5%, eight times that of general small and midsize corporations (0.8%). It was also markedly higher than large corporations (1.9%) or mid-sized corporations (1.2%). The average number of intellectual property rights held per corporation also increased from a year earlier to 12.8.
The export share also expanded. As of 2024, the share of exporting corporations among venture corporations was 27.1%, up 1.0 percentage point from a year earlier. The main export destinations were China, the United States, Japan, and Vietnam, in that order.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) believes these results are largely due to the venture corporation certification system revamped under private-sector leadership in Feb. 2021. As a framework assessing technology and growth potential comprehensively has taken hold, it functions as a system that selects corporations with real growth potential, moving away from formal certification. In fact, the share of corporations in the "venture investment type," which are recognized as competitive in the private investment market, jumped from 7.3% in 2020 to 20.1% last year.
Over the past five years, average sales of venture corporations increased 26.2%, average employment rose 11.9%, and holdings of intellectual property rights grew 70.6%. During the same period, the share of exporting corporations rose 6.2 percentage points, and the R&D-to-sales ratio increased 2.1 percentage points.
Social venture corporations numbered 3,259 last year, up 21.6% from a year earlier. The average number of employees was 19.8, and 78.5% of corporations were found to employ vulnerable groups such as people with disabilities and older adults. Average sales were a modestly higher 3.08 billion won, and the share with in-house corporate research institutes or research and development personnel topped 60%.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) plans to use these survey results as basic data for future venture policy design. Through the "Comprehensive plan to leap to the world's top four venture powers" released on the 18th, it will push to vitalize venture investment, support scale-ups, improve talent compensation systems, and strengthen regional innovation ecosystems.
Minister Han Seong-sook of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) said, "This survey is data that shows the current state of the venture ecosystem in numbers," adding, "We will implement policies without a hitch based on the confirmed achievements and tasks."