SMEs sales drop in 2023 for 1st time in 4 yrs: report

The combined sales of South Korea's small and midsized enterprises fell slightly in 2023 from a year earlier, marking the first drop in four years, a government report showed Friday.

The number of SMEs reached 8.3 million at the end of 2023, up 3.2 percent, or 256,000, from a year earlier, according to the annual report published by the Ministry of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises and Startups.

SMEs had 19.12 million employees as of end-2023, marking a 0.9 percent increase from a year earlier.

Their combined sales came to 3,301.3 trillion won ($2.38 trillion), down 0.2 percent from a year earlier.

It marks the first on-year decline since 2020, following steady growth from 2,675 trillion won in 2020 to 3,017 trillion won in 2021 and 3,309 trillion won in 2022.

SMEs accounted for 99.9 percent of the country's total enterprises, 80.4 percent of employment and 44.9 percent of total sales.

By sector, SMEs in finance and insurance saw sales jump 17.9 percent on-year, while those in accommodation and food services climbed 8.7 percent. SMEs in manufacturing and wholesale, however, posted declines.

In terms of employment, hotels and restaurants hired 2.5 percent more employees in 2023 than a year earlier, while jobs in the transportation and storage sector dropped 4.6 percent. (Yonhap)