Number of Startups in First Half Drops to 574,000... Lowest Since Records Began

Sharp Decline in Startups in Domestic Sectors Such as Food Service, Construction, and Real Estate
Double-Digit Drop in E-Commerce and Food Service Startups
Slight Increase in Proportion of Technology-Based Startups

The number of startups in the first half of the year hit its lowest level since statistics began being compiled. As the domestic market continued to stagnate, sectors with high dependence on domestic demand, such as the food service and construction industries, saw particularly sharp declines.

According to the "2025 First Half Startup Trends" released by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups on August 28, the number of startups in the first half of this year was 574,401, down 7.8% from the same period last year. This is the lowest figure since statistics began in 2016 (590,064). The number of startups in the first half of the year has continued to decline for five consecutive years since peaking at 809,599 in 2020, when the online market, including e-commerce, experienced significant growth.

By industry, all sectors except for financial and insurance services (up 21.9%), professional and scientific technical services (up 1.7%), and agriculture, forestry, fishing, and mining (up 9.7%) saw a decrease in new startups. In particular, the growth in professional and scientific technical services was attributed to the expansion of online distribution, which boosted advertising agency businesses, as well as the rise in management consulting startups due to digital transformation.

However, the overall number of startups hit a record low as sectors with a large share of total businesses-such as wholesale and retail (down 8.1%), accommodation and food services (down 14.7%), and real estate (down 12.8%)-experienced significant year-on-year declines in new startups.

Specifically, new startups in electronic commerce retail brokerage fell 22.4% year-on-year to 28,253, due to sluggish direct online purchases. In the food service industry, startup activity decreased as a result of weak dining-out demand and intensified competition in the caf? market. In addition, new startups in real estate leasing also declined, due to the downturn in the construction market and lower returns on commercial real estate investment.

On a monthly basis, the number of startups decreased year-on-year from January to May, but saw a slight rebound in June, increasing by 1.1% compared to the same month last year. By age group, startup activity declined across all ages, but among those aged 60 and older, the drop was only 3.7%, making it the smallest decrease among all age groups.

Technology-based startups totaled 108,096, a 3.1% decrease from the previous year. However, the proportion of technology-based startups among all new businesses rose by 0.9 percentage points compared to last year.

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