As of 2023, the average funds needed to start a business were found to be 2.06 billion won. In addition, the operating margin of startup companies was 5.7% of sales.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Korea Institute of Startup and Entrepreneurship Development (KISED) on the 16th announced the results of the "Survey on the status of startup companies as of 2023," which contained these findings. According to the survey, 83.2% of all founders launched their businesses based on work experience. Companies founded again based on past failure accounted for 29% of the total, and the average number of restarts was 2.2.
Founders most often cited "greater economic income (64.8%)" as their motive for starting a business, followed by "work that suits their aptitude (41.8%)," "favorable long-term prospects (19.1%)," and "a flexible work environment (14.2%)." Most initial startup funds were raised from own funds (95.2%), with bank and nonbank loans (28.3%), private borrowing (8.8%), and government loans and guarantees (8.4%) also used.
For startup companies, operating profit accounted for 5.7% of total sales, net profit for the period for 4.2%, and financing costs for 2.3%. In addition, startup companies with industrial property rights held an average of five industrial property rights, and only 2.7% had experience entering overseas markets.
As of 2023, the total number of startup companies was 4,902,000, accounting for 59.1% of all small and medium-sized enterprises. This was up 1.5% from a year earlier, marking a third straight year of growth. By age group, youth startups in their 20s and 30s totaled 1,352,000, up 2.2% from a year earlier. The number of employees at startup companies was 8.33 million (an average of 1.7 people), down 2.2% from the previous year, and total sales were 1,134.6 trillion won (an average of 206 million won), down 4.3%.
Cho Kyung-won, director-general for startup policy at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS), said, "In 2023, the base for startups expanded, but the business environment was not easy due to the impact of internal and external economic uncertainty," adding, "In 2026, we will support the growth of startup companies by investing a record-high 3.5 trillion won in startup support budgets through a pan-ministerial joint effort."