FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                      
Feb. 28, 2025                                     
                                                 
Ministry of SMEs of Startups Releases 2024 Startup Trends

SEJONG – The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) announced the ‘2024 Startup Trends’ on February 28.

As of 2024, the total number of startups stands at 1,182,905, reflecting a 4.5% decrease (or 55,712 businesses) compared to the previous year. This decline is largely attributed to a combination of factors, including the ongoing global economic slowdown, the “Three Highs” (high interest rates, high exchange rates, and high inflation) which have led to reduced consumer spending, as well as demographic challenges such as low birth rates and an aging population, all of which have significantly impacted the startup landscape.

* Number of new businesses by year: (2020) 1,484,667 → (2021) 1,417,973 → (2022) 1,317,479 → (2023) 1,238,617 → (2024) 1,182,905

By industry, there was a notable increase in demand for personal care services, building management, and cleaning, alongside significant shifts in the advertising market driven by short-form commerce, OTT platforms, and retail media, as well as base effects. As a result, sectors such as personal services (+8.0%), professional, scientific, and technical services (+2.5%), and business facility management (+3.0%) saw a rise in new businesses compared to 2023.

* Industries with an increase in new businesses: personal services (8.0%↑), professional, scientific, and technical services (2.5%↑), business facility management (3.0%↑), electricity, gas, and air (2.2%↑), transportation and warehousing (0.5%↑), educational services (0.6%↑), agriculture, forestry, fisheries, and mining (0.1%↑), finance and insurance (4.9%↑), health and social welfare (3.9%↑), water supply, sewage, and waste management (14.8%↑)

On the other hand, the effects of high interest rates, the real estate recession, rising raw material prices, and a slowdown in domestic demand led to a decrease in startups across several sectors. These included wholesale and retail (-7.1%), accommodation and restaurants (-7.7%), and real estate (-8.6%).

* Industries with a decrease in new businesses: wholesale and retail (7.1%↓), accommodation and restaurants (7.7%↓), real estate (8.6%↓), information and communication (9.8%↓), manufacturing (5.9%↓), arts, sports, and leisure (6.1%↓), construction (1.7%↓)

On a month-to-month basis, the total number of new businesses showed a year-on-year decrease in most months. However, slight increases were observed in January, April, July, October, and December.

< Monthly Number of Startups and Growth Rates >

(Unit: number, %)
Classification	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	June	July	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Total	121,183	98,207	105,602	104,899	99,807	93,062	105,709	91,490	82,631	99,378	90,208	90,729
	(14.6)	(△10.2)	(△10.7)	(3.4)	(△7.2)	(△13.9)	(1.2)	(△12.1)	(△10.1)	(0.01)	(△12.1)	(5.9)
* ( ) : Year-over-year change rates

There was a decrease in new businesses across all age groups, except for those aged 60 and over, which saw growth.

* Changes in new businesses by age group (%, year-on-year): (Under 30) -12.9%, (30s) -7.0%, (40s) -6.0%, (50s) -1.3%, (60 and over) 4.6%
Meanwhile, the number of technology-based startups in 2024 reached 214,917, a decrease of 2.9% (6,519 businesses) compared to the previous year. However, the proportion of technology-based startups relative to the total number of startups increased by 0.3 percentage points, reaching a record high.

* Number of technology-based startups and their proportion to total startups by year (number, %): (2020) 228,949 (15.4%) → (2021) 239,620 (16.9%) → (2022) 229,416 (17.4%) → (2023) 221,436 (17.9%) → (2024) 214,917 (18.2%)