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Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) form the backbone of South Korea’s economy, accounting for 99.9% of all businesses in the country and employing over 80% of the workforce. As of recent estimates, there are more than 7.7 million SMEs in South Korea, employing approximately 18.49 million people, or 81% of the total workforce. In 2021, SMEs generated total revenues of 3,017 trillion KRW, representing a 12.8% increase from the previous year and contributing 46.9% of the nation’s total corporate revenue. Notably, since 2015, the classification criteria for SMEs have shifted from employee count to annual revenue, reflecting their growing significance in the economy.
Scope of SME
| Main Business | Code | Small and Medium Enterprises
(Average Sales) |
Small Enterprise
(Average Sales) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing
(6 business types) |
Manufacturing of clothing, clothing
accessories, and fur products |
C14 | KRW 150 billion or less | KRW 12 billion or less |
| Manufacturing of leather, bags, and
shoes |
C15 | |||
| Manufacturing of pulp, paper, and
paper products |
C17 | KRW 12 billion or less | ||
| Primary metal manufacturing | C24 | KRW 8 billion or less | ||
| Electrical equipment manufacturing | C28 | |||
| Furniture manufacturing | C32 | |||
| Agriculture, forestry, and fisheries | A | KRW 100 billion or less | KRW 8 billion or less | |
| Mining | B | |||
| Manufacturing
(12 business types) |
Food manufacturing | C10 | KRW 12 billion or less | |
| Tobacco manufacturing | C12 | KRW 8 billion or less | ||
| Textile product manufacturing
(excluding clothing manufacturing) |
C13 | |||
| Timber and wood product
manufacturing (excluding furniture manufacturing) |
C16 | |||
| Manufacturing of coke, briquettes,
and refined petroleum products |
C19 | KRW 12 billion or less | ||
| Chemicals and chemical product
manufacturing (excluding medicine manufacturing) |
C20 | |||
| Rubber and plastic product
manufacturing |
C22 | KRW 8 billion or less | ||
| Metalwork product manufacturing
(excluding machine and furniture manufacturing) |
C25 | KRW 12 billion or less | ||
| Manufacturing of electronic parts,
computers, video, audio, and communications equipment |
C26 | |||
| Manufacturing of other machines
and equipment |
C29 | |||
| Automobile and trailer
manufacturing |
C30 | |||
| Manufacturing of other
transportation equipment |
C31 | KRW 8 billion or less | ||
| Supply of electricity, gas, steam, and air conditioning | D | KRW 12 billion or less | ||
| Waterworks | E36 | |||
| Construction | F | KRW 8 billion or less | ||
| Wholesale and retail businesses | G | KRW 5 billion or less | ||
| Manufacturing
(6 business types) |
Beverage manufacturing | C11 | KRW 80 billion or less | KRW 12 billion or less |
| Printing and recording media
duplication |
C18 | KRW 8 billion or less | ||
| Manufacturing of medical materials
and pharmaceuticals |
C21 | KRW 12 billion or less | ||
| Manufacturing of nonmetallic
mineral products |
C23 | |||
| Manufacturing of medical, precision,
optics and clocks |
C27 | KRW 8 billion or less | ||
| Manufacturing of other products | C33 | |||
| Water, sewage, and waste disposal, raw material recycling
(excluding waterworks) |
E(excluding
E36) |
KRW 3 billion or less | ||
| Transportation and warehousing | H | KRW 8 billion or less | ||
| Information and communications | J | KRW 5 billion or less | ||
| Repair of industrial machinery and equipment | C34 | KRW 60 billion or less | KRW 1 billion or less | |
| Professional, scientific, and technical services | M | KRW 3 billion or less | ||
| Business facility management, business support,
and rental services (excluding rental businesses) |
N(excluding
N76) |
KRW 3 billion or less | ||
| Health and social welfare services | Q | KRW 1 billion or less | ||
| Arts, sports and leisure services | R | KRW 3 billion or less | ||
| Repair and other personal services | S | KRW 1 billion or less | ||
| Accommodations and restaurants | I | KRW 40 billion or less | KRW 1 billion or less | |
| Finance and insurance | K | KRW 8 billion or less | ||
| Real estate businesses | L | KRW 3 billion or less | ||
| Leasing businesses | N76 | KRW 3 billion or less | ||
| Education services | P | KRW 1 billion or less | ||
| Manufacturing of new seats for automobiles | C30393 | Average sales less than
KRW 150 billion |
Average sales
less than KRW 12 billion | |
| Manufacturing of rail vehicle seats among manufacturers of
rail vehicle parts and related devices |
C31202 | |||
| Manufacturing of aircraft seats among aircraft part manufacturers | C31322 | |||
List of SMEs in South Korea
| Name (English) | Name (Korea) | Industry | sector | Headquarters | Founded | website |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CF Technology | 씨에프테크놀로지 | Technology | software | Asan | 2020 | https://cftech.co.kr/ |
| DONGHAE SEAFOOD | 동해로씨푸드 | Consumer goods | Food | Busan | 2011 | http://www.dhrofood.com/ |
| Micro TS | 주식회사 마이크로티에스 | Industrials | Electronic & electrical equipment | Cheonan | 2008 | http://www.micro-ts.co.kr/index.php |
| Naeil Shinmun | 내일 신문 | Consumer services | Media | Seoul | 1993 | https://www.naeil.com/ |
| Viva mobility | 비바 모빌리티 | Consumer goods | Automotive | Daegu | 2018 | https://vivamobility.kr/hello |
| Harrie Inc. | 주시회사 해리 | Telecommunications | Mobile telecommunications | Seoul | 2016 | https://telecom.harrie.co.kr/ |
| Star Sports | 신신상사 주식회사 | Consumer goods | Personal goods | Namyangju | 1965 | https://starsports.co.kr/html/index.asp |
| dongjin pharmaceutical | 동진제약 | Consumer goods | pharmaceutical | Chungcheongnam-do | 2000 | http://www.idongjinkorea.com/default/index.php |
| ACE PLANET CORP | 주식회사 에이스플래닛 | Consumer service | Marketing service | Seoul | 2019 | http://www.aceplanet.co.kr/home/ |
| Chancemobile | 찬스모바일 | Telecommunications | Mobile telecommunications | Seoul | 2024 | https://chancemobile.co.kr/ |
See also
References
- ^ Park, Sangdong. "중소기업 771만개, 전체 기업의 99.9% 차지…종사자 1천849만명". Yonhap news.
- cycles, This text provides general information Statista assumes no liability for the information given being complete or correct Due to varying update; Text, Statistics Can Display More up-to-Date Data Than Referenced in the. "Topic: SMEs in South Korea". Statista. Retrieved 2024-11-27.
- "중소벤처기업부". www.mss.go.kr (in Korean). Retrieved 2024-11-27.
- "Ministry of SMEs and Startups". www.mss.go.kr. Retrieved 2024-11-27.
Further reading
- Nugent, Jeffrey B.; Yhee, Seung-Jae (2002). "Small and Medium Enterprises in Korea: Achievements, Constraints and Policy Issues". Small Business Economics. 18 (1/3): 85–119. doi:10.1023/A:1015181911497.
- OECD (2024). "Korea". Financing SMEs and Entrepreneurs 2024: An OECD Scoreboard. Paris: OECD Publishing. doi:10.1787/fa521246-en. ISSN 2306-5265.
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