Over 900 Ventures with Sales of 100 Billion KRW... Total Sales Reach 235 Trillion KRW

Ministry of SMEs and Startups & Korea Venture Business Association, Venture 100 Billion Won Companies Commemoration Ceremony
103 New Entries Last Year... More Job Creation Than Large Corporations

Last year, the number of venture companies with sales exceeding 100 billion won surpassed 900.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Korea Venture Business Association announced on the 26th that they held a commemorative ceremony at the EL Tower Orce Hall in Seoul to celebrate the achievements of 'Venture 100 Billion Won Companies' that achieved sales of 100 billion won based on last year's settlement.

The number of Venture 100 Billion Won Companies last year was 908, an increase of 4.5% compared to the previous year. Since the survey on Venture 100 Billion Won Companies began in 2005, the number has steadily increased, surpassing 900 for the first time. The number of Venture 100 Billion Won Companies was confirmed as 587 in 2018, 617 in 2019, 633 in 2020, 739 in 2021, and 869 in 2022.

The Venture 100 Billion Won Companies employed 334,000 people, an increase of about 10,000 (3.0%) compared to 2022, creating more jobs than large business groups. According to the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, Samsung employed about 278,000 people, Hyundai Motor about 198,000, LG about 155,000, and SK about 115,000.

Total sales grew to 235 trillion won, an increase of about 8 trillion won (3.7%) compared to 2022, reaching a scale comparable to Hyundai Motor, the second largest conglomerate with 275 trillion won in sales.

For three consecutive years from 2021 to last year, more than 100 new Venture 100 Billion Won Companies entered the market each year. The number of new Venture 100 Billion Won Companies was 180 in 2021, 134 in 2022, and 103 last year.

In particular, the proportion of new Venture 100 Billion Won Companies with less than 10 years of business experience increased by 7.1 percentage points, from 17.2% (10 companies) in 2018 to 24.3% (25 companies) last year.

Additionally, among small and medium-sized enterprises and mid-sized companies with annual sales exceeding 100 billion won, Venture 100 Billion Won Companies accounted for 32.4% of the number of companies, 24.9% of sales, and 24.1% of employees.

The ratio of research and development expenditure to sales, which is essential for securing growth engines for companies, was 2.8%, 3.5 times higher than that of general small businesses and 1.6 times higher than that of large companies, indicating that growth speed is being accelerated based on technology.

Oh Young-joo, Minister of SMEs and Startups, said, “The achievements of Venture 100 Billion Won Companies will serve as a goal and role model for many other ventures and startups, becoming a powerful driving force leading South Korea’s economic growth. The Ministry of SMEs and Startups will also do its best to provide policy support so that startups can grow into Venture 100 Billion Won Companies and leap forward as global companies to lead our economy.”