Announcement of 'One-Person Creative Enterprise Survey' on the 28th
Capital Region Accounts for 572,000 Businesses, Making Up 57.2%
The number of one-person creative enterprises in South Korea has surpassed 980,000, with it taking more than 1 year and 8 months on average for these businesses to generate their first profit.
According to the "2023 One-Person Creative Enterprise Survey" released by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups on the 28th, the total number of one-person creative enterprises reached 987,812, marking a 7.7% increase compared to the previous year. One-person creative enterprises are defined as individuals or joint business operators with fewer than five people who operate businesses without regular employees, possessing creativity and expertise. Industries such as real estate, wholesale and retail trade, accommodation, and food and beverage services are excluded.
The location of one-person creative enterprises is concentrated in the metropolitan area with 565,000 businesses, accounting for 57.2%. The distribution includes Gyeonggi with 276,000 (28%), Seoul with 237,000 (24%), and Busan with 61,000 (6.2%). The leading industries are manufacturing (26.2%), e-commerce (21.2%), and educational services (16.7%).
A sample survey conducted by Statistics Korea on 5,000 one-person creative enterprises found that the average time from startup to first sales was 2.6 months, and the average time to reach the break-even point was 20.2 months.
The age group of representatives was highest in their 50s at 30.8%, and lowest in their 20s at 0.7%. The proportion of youth entrepreneurs aged 39 or younger was 11.4%.
The motivations for starting a business were "utilizing aptitude and ability" (42.8%), "generating high income" (26.1%), and "livelihood maintenance" (14.1%). The average preparation period for starting a business was 12.1 months. The main prior experience of representatives before starting their business was working at small and medium-sized enterprises at 49.6%, followed by "business preparation" (15.0%) and "freelancer" (9.3%). The primary clients were consumers at 61.1%, followed by companies (29.9%) and government/public institutions (1.9%).
Jo Kyung-won, Director of Startup Policy at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, stated, "This one-person creative enterprise survey will be used as an important reference for establishing the three-year plan to foster one-person creative enterprises."
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