Last Year, 61,000 More Businesses Opened... Increase in 'Young Bosses' Aged 20-30

Statistics Korea, '2022 National Business Survey Results'
Transportation Industry with Online Transactions Increased by 27,000
Businesses Led by CEOs in Their 20s Up 3.4%

The number of businesses increased by more than 60,000 compared to the previous year. The number of workers in transportation-related industries, such as delivery, rose due to the increase in single-person households, and the number of young entrepreneurs in their 20s and 30s also grew significantly.

According to the '2022 National Business Survey Results' (provisional) announced by Statistics Korea on the 25th, the total number of business operators at the end of last year was 6,141,263, an increase of 61,561 (1.0%) from the previous year. The total number of employees in all businesses was 25,211,397, up 279,797 (1.1%).

Businesses include individually owned and managed businesses, corporate entities such as joint-stock companies, non-corporate entities such as foundations, schools, and medical corporations, as well as non-corporate organizations like labor and cultural groups or support associations.

By industry, the number of businesses increased in transportation (27,000) and associations & other services (10,000). These two sectors grew by 4.4% and 2.1%, respectively, compared to the previous year. Transportation includes courier services, freight and individual cargo truck transportation, while associations & other services include skin care and nail art.

Statistics Korea stated, "The activation of non-face-to-face and online transactions has led to a significant increase in delivery-related transportation businesses." On the other hand, the number of businesses decreased in wholesale & retail (-17,000, -1.1%), business facilities & support services (-4,000, -3.1%), and mining (-180, -8.7%).

On the 31st, when the indoor mask mandate was lifted, an employee at a cafe in Seoul is wearing a mask. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

The increase in businesses led by people in their 20s and 30s was substantial. Businesses led by those in their 30s increased by 26,781 (3.2%) over one year to 875,660, and those led by people aged 20 or younger rose by 8,536 (3.4%) to 261,611. By age group of representatives, those in their 50s accounted for the largest share at 31.8%, followed by those in their 40s (26.3%) and those aged 60 and above (23.4%).

Last year, the number of businesses with female representatives was 2,262,242, accounting for 36.8% of all businesses. By industry, the proportion of female representatives was high in education services (61.2%) and accommodation & food services (57.4%).

By employee size, the number of businesses with 1?4 employees (63,000, 1.2%), 100?299 employees (705, 4.5%), and 300 or more employees (19, 0.4%) increased, while those with 5?99 employees (-2,149, -0.3%) decreased.

By organizational form, sole proprietorships (51,000, 1.1%), non-corporate organizations (5,000, 4.9%), and corporate entities (1,640, 0.2%) all increased. The number of employees increased in corporate entities (170,000, 1.5%), non-corporate entities (63,000, 1.5%), and non-corporate organizations (27,000, 3.3%).

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