Small Business Owners with Back Pain Saw Debt Increase by 27 Trillion Won Last Year

It was revealed that the total debt of small business owners increased by 27 trillion won over the past year.

According to the provisional results of the '2022 Small Business Owner Survey' announced on the 27th by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and Statistics Korea, the number of small business workers was 7,140,300, a decrease of 61,000 (-0.9%) compared to the previous year. By industry, the number of small business workers decreased mainly in retail (-2.9%) and manufacturing (-1.3%).

Although the number of workers decreased, the number of small business establishments increased by 0.2% (7,000) to 4,125,000 compared to the previous year. By industry, education and service industries (3.3%, 6,000) and repair and other service industries (1.4%, 5,000) saw increases.

By representative age group, those in their 50s (30.6%) were the most numerous, while those aged 20 or younger (5.3%) were the least. The 30s age group increased by 3.1%, showing the largest growth, while representatives in their 50s (-0.4%) and 60s (-1.5%) all decreased.

The startup cost per business was 85 million won, and the personal burden at startup was 64 million won, respectively. The most common motivation for starting a business was "wanting to run my own business" (64.1%), and the preparation period for starting a business per establishment was 9.5 months, a decrease of 2.9% (0.3 months) compared to the previous year.

The management performance of small business owners improved compared to 2021, when the COVID-19 pandemic was at its peak. Last year, the sales per small business establishment were 234 million won, an increase of 4.0% from the previous year, and operating profit per establishment surged by 10.1% to 31 million won.

Among all small business establishments, 11.4% had e-commerce sales through delivery apps, etc., an increase of 0.3 percentage points from the previous year.

Last year, the total debt of small business owners recorded 452.5 trillion won, an increase of 26.9 trillion won compared to the previous year. The average debt per establishment was 185 million won, up 6.1% from the previous year. By industry, the largest increases in debt were seen in accommodation and food service (3.4 percentage points) and education and service industries (0.6 percentage points).

The biggest management burden factors for small business owners last year were intensified competition (46.6%), rising raw material costs (39.6%), and decline of commercial districts (37.7%).

This survey, conducted as general statistics under the 'Small Business Act,' was carried out from June 15 to July 21, targeting 65,000 single establishments in 11 industries including wholesale and retail, accommodation and food service, and manufacturing.