SMEs Account for 99.9% of All Companies but Generate Less Than Half of Total Sales

Ministry of SMEs and Startups Announces '2019 Basic Statistics on SMEs'
SME Sales 2,732 Trillion Won... 48.7% of Total Sales

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] Domestic small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) account for 99.9% of all companies, and SME workers make up 82.7% of the total workforce. However, their sales only represent 48.7% of the total, revealing a gap between large and small-to-medium enterprises.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups disclosed the '2019 Basic Statistics on SMEs' containing these details on the 28th.

The Basic Statistics on SMEs are compiled annually by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups based on the Statistics Korea's business register. Starting this year, survey items such as industry classification, regional division, and female executives have been subdivided to allow a more detailed understanding of the SME status.

According to the aggregation, the number of domestic SMEs in 2019 was 6,888,000, an increase of 3.8% from the previous year, accounting for 99.9% of all companies.

The number of SME employees increased by 2.0% to 17.44 million, and sales rose by 2.6% to 2,732.1 trillion KRW. SME sales accounted for 48.7% of total corporate sales.

By industry, the number of companies was highest in wholesale and retail trade with 1,661,000, followed by real estate (1,167,000), and accommodation and food service activities (815,000).

Compared to the previous year, the share of total companies increased in electricity, gas, steam, and air conditioning supply (up 0.3 percentage points), repair services (up 0.3 percentage points), and construction (up 0.2 percentage points), while wholesale and retail trade (down 0.8 percentage points) and accommodation and food service activities (down 0.2 percentage points) decreased.

The number of employees was highest in manufacturing (3,394,000), wholesale and retail trade (3,287,000), and accommodation and food service activities (1,831,000).

Compared to the previous year, the proportion of employees increased in professional, scientific, and technical services (up 0.2 percentage points) and health and social welfare services (up 0.2 percentage points), while it decreased in wholesale and retail trade (down 0.4 percentage points) and business facilities management, business support, and rental services (down 0.4 percentage points).

Sales volume was highest in wholesale and retail trade (910.1 trillion KRW), manufacturing (750.3 trillion KRW), and construction (307.6 trillion KRW).

By region, SMEs located in the Seoul Capital Area (Seoul, Incheon, Gyeonggi) numbered 3,534,000, accounting for 51.3% of all companies.

SME employees in the Seoul Capital Area totaled 9,406,000, representing 53.9% of all employees, and sales amounted to 1,590.3 trillion KRW, accounting for 58.2% of the total.

SMEs led by female representatives numbered 2,772,000, making up 40.2% of all SMEs, an increase of 0.2 percentage points from the previous year.