There Are 22 Unicorn Companies in Korea

7 New Companies and 3 Graduated Companies

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Cheol-hyun] The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (Minister Lee Young) announced on the 9th that as of the end of last year, there are 22 domestic unicorn companies?unlisted companies with a corporate value of over 1 trillion won. This number includes 14 companies listed by the U.S. business analysis firm CB Insights plus 8 additional companies identified by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups. Until 2019, unicorn companies were reported using CB Insights data, but from 2020, the Ministry has added companies it discovered independently to the announcement.

At the end of 2021, there were 18 domestic unicorn companies. Last year, 7 companies were added, and 3 companies graduated through listing or mergers and acquisitions, resulting in 22 companies as of the end of 2022. This is the highest number recorded at the end of any year since domestic unicorn companies have been tracked.

Last year, the number of domestic unicorn companies that graduated was a record high of 3. Socar graduated by listing on the KOSPI, while Aprogen and TMON graduated through mergers and acquisitions. The Ministry of SMEs and Startups explained that this is a meaningful achievement compared to the 73.2% decrease in global unicorn graduations.

Unlike the global trend where the birth of unicorns was reduced by more than half last year, domestically, the number of companies entering unicorn status was 7, the same as the record high in 2021. Looking at the newly added companies, Megazone Cloud is a company that provides cloud computing infrastructure construction and solution services, and it is the first domestic unicorn in the cloud sector.

Shift Up is a startup in the mobile gaming sector that developed the top-grossing game on Google Play and the App Store. IGAWorks is a company that provides big data-based customer analysis and customized marketing for businesses. Yogi-otdae Company operates 'Yogi-otdae,' a comprehensive travel platform where users can prepare accommodation reservations, flight tickets, and restaurant bookings all at once.

Oasis is the only company in the domestic dawn delivery industry that is profitable, delivering fresh food 24 hours a day. It is scheduled to be listed on KOSDAQ at the end of February. Tridge operates a data and trade platform for agricultural, livestock, and marine products. Korea Credit Data was selected for the 2020 preliminary unicorn special guarantee and provides services to over 2 million business locations centered on the management solution 'Cash Note.'

Minister Lee Young said, "Despite 2022 being an especially difficult year for startups, not only did domestic unicorn companies emerge, but graduations were also the highest," adding, "To supply necessary funds to startups in a timely manner, we have provided investment promotion incentives to venture capital and expanded the scale of technology guarantees. We will also promptly promote private venture mother funds and the introduction of multiple voting rights to create a venture ecosystem where unicorns can continuously emerge."