Korea Startup Forum: Member Companies Generating $15B in Annual Revenue, $22B in Cumulative Investment and Employment for 50,000

The Korea Startup Forum(KSF, 코리아스타트업포럼) has released the 2023 Korea Startup White Paper, which summarises its key activities and achievements in 2023.

According to the white paper, KSF has a total of 2,237 members at the end of 2023. Of these, startup members generated a total annual revenue of $15.174 billion (KRW 20.1591 trillion) (1,110 companies) in 2023, up about 1.3% from $15 billion (KRW 19.8945 trillion) (989 companies) in the previous year. The cumulative amount of investment attracted was KRW 29.431 trillion (620 companies), up about 0.5% from KRW 29.037 trillion (575 companies) in the previous year. Employment reached 55,516 (1,125 companies), up 4% from 48,564 (994 companies) in the previous year, the largest increase among the three categories.

In terms of investment stage, 374 early-stage companies received seed to pre-A financing, representing 49% of the 763 companies. This is an increase of 4.5% on the previous year and reflects the high level of investment in very early stage startups amid the turmoil in the investment market last year. Series A was 22.9% (175 companies), Series B was 14.6% (111 companies) and Series C was 13.5% (103 companies), down 1.7%, 1% and 1.8% respectively on the previous year.

The white paper also revealed the regional and industry distribution of the 2,237 member companies. Regionally, Seoul-based companies accounted for 1,519 or 68% of the total, while the metropolitan area accounted for 1,800 or 80% of the total, indicating that the startup ecosystem remains heavily skewed towards the capital region. The number of members in Busan and Gyeongnam, the main regions of the Southeastern Branch, increased by 1.2 and 3.9 times year-on-year, respectively, indicating that the Southeastern Branch is making a significant contribution to the local startup community. In terms of industry sectors, the distribution was high in content (232 companies), (e)commerce (206 companies), advertising and marketing (198 companies) and telecommunications, security, data and infrastructure (179 companies).

The top seven issues last year included responding to regional conflicts and improving policies and regulations on regional technology and telemedicine; strengthening global capabilities by holding BUSAN Slush’D in Korea for the first time and hosting the global startup festival COMEUP 2023; Helping entrepreneurs overcome the investment doldrums through entrepreneurs’ clubs, entrepreneurs’ advisory centres and sports competitions; inaugurating the third Council President of the Southeast Branch and admitting the 100th full member company; releasing “35 Startup Representatives Asked About Entrepreneurship”; and celebrating the 7th anniversary of the publication of the book “35 Startup Representatives Asked About Entrepreneurship”. For more information, please visit the KSF website.

“In 2023, when the startup ecosystem faced many challenges and members focused on survival through solidarity with each other, KSF expanded its programmes to support the growth of members at various stages of growth, including early-stage companies, resulting in high participation and interaction,” said Jae-Wook Park, Chairman of KSF. “We will continue to strengthen our role as the hub of the startup community for the healthy development and sustainable growth of the ecosystem,” he added.

Meanwhile, KSF has set its business goals for this year as “Focusing on the essence, creating a virtuous cycle of startup-ecosystem community”, and plans to focus on revitalising the KSF community and membership, strengthening support for startup policies, and strengthening its global growth foundation. At the regular delegates’ meeting on the 27th of this month, KSF will report on the 2023 business settlement, approve the 2024 business plan and budget, and elect Sangwoo Han as the fourth chairman.