Number of start-ups in South Korea 2021, by business age

In 2021, start-ups a year old or less made up the largest number of start-ups in South Korea, with around one million out of a total of about 4.5 million. Start-ups two years old or less accounted for approximately 42 percent of the total.

South Korean Start-ups

Most South Korean start-ups were founded by individuals rather than corporations. Around 60 percent of all Korean start-ups were started by individuals who were more likely to be men than women, most of whom had bachelor’s degrees. Corporation-founded start-ups were more profitable in general.

Founding a Start-up

More and more people have been establishing start-ups in South Korea. Most of these people were already in employment before launching their start-ups and had about ten years of work experience on average. Around sixty percent of startup founders were in their 40s and 50s. Start-ups are not always successful, and around 28.8 percent of the founders surveyed had founded a startup for the second time.