Small and medium enterprises in South Korea

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.^[1][2] 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.^[1][3] 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.^[1] 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

Scope of Small and Medium Enterprises^[4]

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

• List of companies of South Korea

References

1. Park, Sangdong. "중소기업 771만개, 전체 기업의 99.9% 차지…종사자 1천849만명". Yonhap news.
2. 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.
3. "중소벤처기업부". www.mss.go.kr (in Korean). Retrieved 2024-11-27.
4. "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.