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Statistics

No. of Korean SMEs & Employees by Year

Unit: No. of Firms and Employees and Ratio %

No. of Korean SMEs & Employees by Year - Total (A), SMEs (B), Ratio (B/A,), No. of Firms, No. of Employees, No. of Firms, No. of Employees, No. of Firms, No. of Employees
Total (A) SMEs (B) Ratio (B/A)
No. of Firms No. of Employees No. of Firms No. of Employees No. of Firms No. of Employees
'00 2,729,957 10,768,597 2,707,805 8,680,694 99.2 80.6
'01 2,658,860 10,876,418 2,649,691 9,176,237 99.7 84.4
'02 2,861,830 11,737,640 2,856,913 10,154,095 99.8 86.5
'03 2,939,661 11,870,358 2,934,897 10,308,574 99.8 86.8
'04 2,927,436 11,824,074 2,922,533 10,210,629 99.8 86.4
'05 2,867,749 11,902,400 2,863,583 10,449,182 99.9 87.8
'06 2,940,345 12,234,160 2,936,114 10,677,789 99.9 87.3
'07 2,976,646 12,612,692 2,974,185 11,149,134 99.9 88.4
'08 3,046,958 13,070,424 3,044,169 11,467,713 99.9 87.7
'09 3,069,400 13,398,497 3,066,484 11,751,022 99.9 87.7
'10 3,125,457 14,135,234 3,122,332 12,262,535 99.9 86.8
'11 3,234,687 14,534,230 3,231,634 12,626,746 99.9 86.9
'12 3,354,320 14,891,162 3,351,404 13,059,372 99.9 87.7
'13 3,418,993 15,344,860 3,415,863 13,421,594 99.9 87.5
'14 3,545,473 15,962,745 3,542,350 14,027,636 99.9 87.9
'15 5,893,802 19,259,827 5,889,611 16,032,404 99.9 83.2
'16 6,085,434 19,635,071 6,080,914 16,361,595 99.9 83.3
'17 6,301,013 20,094,913 6,296,210 16,689,525 99.9 83.1
'18 6,643,756 20,591,641 6,638,694 17,103,938 99.9 83.1
'19 6,893,706 21,076,582 6,888,435 17,439,595 99.9 82.7

Source : MSS

No. of Korean SMEs & Employees by Industry

Unit : No. of Firms and Employees and Ratio %

No. of Korean SMEs & Employees by Industry - Total (A), SMEs (B), Ratio (B/A,), No. of Firms, No. of Employees, No. of Firms, No. of Employees, No. of Firms, No. of Employees
Total (A) SMEs (B) Ratio (B/A)
No. of Firms No. of Employees No. of Firms No. of Employees No. of Firms No. of Employees
All Industries 6,893,706 21,076,582 6,888,435 17,439,595 99.9 82.7
A Agriculture, Forestry & Fishery 88,476 147,866 88,457 146,205 100 98.9
B Mining 2,656 12,194 2,654 11,483 99.9 94.2
C Manufacturing 579,002 4,759,709 577,345 3,394,029 99.7 71.3
D Electricity, Gas, Steam & Water 94,307 137,224 94,195 99,673 99.9 72.6
E Sewer/Waste Treatment, Raw Material Reproduction & Environmental Restoration 11,344 93,737 11,313 85,237 99.7 90.9
F Construction 484,611 1,990,943 484,238 1,750,219 99.9 87.9
G Wholesale & Retail 1,661,831 3,674,757 1,661,006 3,286,936 100 89.4
H Transportation & Warehouse 614,188 1,218,409 613,985 1,060,969 100 87.1
I Accommodation & Restaurants 815,269 1,995,255 815,162 1,830,894 100 91.8
J Information and Communication Technology 125,741 731,167 125,427 504,916 99.8 69.1
K Finance & Insurance 54,135 663,524 53,711 142,164 99.2 21.4
L Real Estate 1,167,248 1,471,192 1,166,553 1,409,412 99.2 95.8
M Specialized, Science & Technical Service 222,342 889,207 222,144 794,824 99.9 89.4
N Business Facility Management & Business Support & Rental Service 150,520 1,396,581 150,315 1,078,748 99.9 77.2
P Education Service 223,489 368,358 223,458 353,241 100 95.9
Q Health & Social Welfare 77,711 650,656 77,704 646,595 100 99.4
R Art, Sports & Leisure-related Service 145,295 268,142 145,239 249,110 100 92.9
S Repair & Other Individual
Service		 375,541 607,661 375,529 594,940 100 97.9

Source : MSS

Trend of Business Start-ups

Unit : No. of Firms

Trend of Business Start-ups - '11, '12, '13, '14, '15, '16
'11 '12 '13 '14 '15 '16
No. of Newly established Corporations 65,110 74,162 75,574 84,697 93,768 96,155
Manufacturing 15,557 17,733 18,721 19,509 20,155 19,037
Trend of Business Start-ups - '17, '18, '19
'17 '18 '19
No. of Newly established Corporations 98,330 102,042 1,285,259
Manufacturing 20,629 18,954 52,317

Source : MSS

※ Due to the changes in the way statistics are compiled since 2019, it is difficult to simply compare to the figures before 2018.
(2011~2018 : only incorporated companies, 2019~ : both incorporated companies and individual proprietorships)

Business Ventures and Inno-Biz

Unit : No. of Firms

Business Ventures and Inno-Biz - '98~'03, '04, '05, '06, '07, '08, '09
'98~'03 '04 '05 '06 '07 '08 '09
Venture 43,646 7,967 9,732 12,218 14,015 15,401 18,893
Inno-biz 5,321 2,762 3,454 7,183 11,526 14,626 15,940
Business Ventures and Inno-Biz - '10, '11, '12, '13, '14, '15, '16
'10 '11 '12 '13 '14 '15 '16
Venture 43,646 7,967 9,732 12,218 14,015 15,401 18,893
Inno-biz 5,321 2,762 3,454 7,183 11,526 14,626 15,940
Business Ventures and Inno-Biz - '17, '18, '19
'17 '18 '19
Venture 43,646 36,820 37,008
Inno-biz 5,321 18,093 18,345