Technology-Based Startups Increase Over 3 Years... Account for 20% of Total

Results of the 2022 Startup Business Survey Announced
Total Number of Startups Reaches 4,829,665

The number of startups in technology-based industries has steadily increased over the past three years.

On June 27 last year, participants visited startup booths and inquired about products at the 'Next Elevation 2nd Demo Day' held at COEX in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Korea Institute of Startup & Entrepreneurship Development announced the results of the 2022 "Startup Business Survey," which investigates the characteristics of startup companies, on the 16th. A startup company is defined as a business with less than seven years of operation.

According to the survey, the number of startups in technology-based industries reached 964,893, showing growth centered on healthcare and social welfare services (20.2%), information and communication (14.4%), and professional, scientific, and technical services (10.6%) compared to the previous year. The number of startups in technology-based industries has continued to increase for three consecutive years, with 848,036 in 2020 and 902,599 in 2021.

Startups in technology-based industries account for 20% of all startups, but their share of employees and sales revenue was 30.3% and 27.9%, respectively, indicating higher business performance compared to startups in non-technology-based industries. The total number of startups increased by 6.2% from the previous year to 4,829,665, representing 60.1% of all SMEs (8,043,000).

The total number of employees in startups was 8,515,000, with an average of 1.8 employees per company. Among them, technology-based startups employed 2,578,000 people, averaging 2.7 employees per company.

The total sales revenue of startups was 1,186.1 trillion KRW, with an average of 250 million KRW per company. This accounted for 35.8% of the total sales revenue of SMEs (3,309 trillion KRW). The sales revenue of technology-based startups was 331.4 trillion KRW (average 340 million KRW).

Examining the characteristics of startup founders, 83.3% started their businesses leveraging their work experience. In 2021, 63.6% responded that they had prior work experience. Founders primarily pursued entrepreneurship for "greater economic income" (65.0%). Other motivations included "work suited to their aptitude" (49.9%), "favorable long-term prospects" (22.6%), and "a flexible working environment" (17.1%).

The average capital required to start a business was 203 million KRW. The main source of startup funds was "personal funds" (95.1%). Additionally, funds were raised through "(non-)bank loans" (31.3%), "private borrowing" (11.8%), and "government loans and guarantees" (11.0%).

Jo Kyung-won, Director of Startup Policy at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, stated, "The overall increase in indicators shown in this survey demonstrates that the startup environment is becoming more active, which will serve as a driving force for the continuous development of the startup ecosystem and for more startups to achieve innovation in the future."

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