One-Person Creative Enterprises' Sales Increase by 19.4% Year-on-Year

Ministry of SMEs and Startups Announces Results of '2019 Survey on One-Person Creative Enterprises'

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Cheol-hyun] The sales of one-person creative enterprises have increased by nearly 20% compared to the previous year. The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (Minister Park Young-sun, hereinafter referred to as the Ministry) announced the results of the '2019 One-Person Creative Enterprise Survey (hereinafter referred to as the Survey)' on the 26th.

This survey is conducted under the 'Act on the Promotion of One-Person Creative Enterprises' and is published annually through the National Statistical Portal. A one-person creative enterprise refers to a sole proprietor with creativity and expertise who operates a business without regular employees, covering 43 industries including manufacturing, e-commerce, publishing, broadcasting, and telecommunications. This survey sampled 5,000 companies by industry and region classified as one-person enterprises based on the 2017 year-end nationwide business survey by Statistics Korea, investigating their management status in 2018.

According to the survey, the number of one-person creative enterprises increased by 3.5%, from 271,375 at the end of 2016 to 280,856 at the end of 2017. By industry, most were engaged in technology- and knowledge-based sectors such as manufacturing (35.4%) and educational services (24.2%). Total employment rose by 20.8%, from 608,206 to 734,977. The average number of employees per company increased from 2.24 to 2.62.

Total sales increased by 19.4%, from 54.9697 trillion KRW to 65.6652 trillion KRW, and the average sales per company also rose by 19.2%, from 203 million KRW to 242 million KRW. The average capital increased by 15.6%, from 83 million KRW to 96 million KRW. The average debt rose by 23 million KRW, from 107 million KRW to 130 million KRW.

The average age of representatives was 51.2 years, 0.38 years younger than the previous year. The average age at the time of founding was 39.48 years, with males accounting for 75.9% and females 24.1%. The average business duration was 11.72 years, 1.48 years shorter than the previous year, and most were sole proprietors at 86.2%, with corporations making up 13.8%.

Among one-person creative enterprises, 79.4% owned stores, and a high proportion sold directly to consumers (66.2%). The average funding amount at the time of founding was 77.38 million KRW, an increase of 10.46 million KRW compared to the previous year. The funding sources showed a decrease in self-financing and an increase in external funding such as policy funds. In the survey on perceptions of the startup environment at founding and recently (on a 7-point scale), the response that 'social perception of startups has improved' rose by 0.08 points from 3.98 to 4.06, and 'startup conditions have improved' increased by 0.06 points from 3.79 to 3.85.

Um Ki-hoon, head of the Startup Promotion Division at the Ministry, said, "We have designated 49 one-person creative enterprise support centers nationwide to provide office space, management consulting, marketing, and various policy supports for one-person creative enterprises," adding, "We hope for the participation of sole proprietors with creativity and expertise."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.