The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (Minister Oh Young-joo, hereinafter referred to as the Ministry of SMEs and Startups) announced the results of the '2023 Survey on the Status of Disabled Enterprises' on the 30th. This survey is conducted in accordance with Article 7 (Survey) of the Act on Promotion of Disabled Enterprises to investigate the status of disabled entrepreneurs and activities and to efficiently establish and implement policies for the disabled.
This study linked and analyzed the ‘Corporate Statistics Registration’ and ‘Corporate Birth and Death Administrative Statistics’ of the National Statistical Office to confirm the number of disabled businesses, sales, and employees, and conducted a characteristic survey by extracting a sample from the confirmed disabled businesses.
According to the results of this survey, the number of companies for the disabled as of 2023 was 174,344 (164,660 companies in 2022, a 5.9% increase). The total number of employees was 578,280 (544,840 in 2022, a 6.1% increase), and the total sales amounted to KRW 69.7 trillion (KRW 75.2 trillion in 2022, a 7.3% decrease).
Looking at the general characteristics of disabled enterprises, the total number of enterprises by year is increasing, and by enterprise size, there are 160,569 small and medium-sized enterprises (92.1%, 148,723 companies in 2022, a 7.96% increase) and 13,775 small and medium-sized enterprises (7.9%, 15,937 companies in 2022, a 13.56% decrease).
By industry, wholesale and retail businesses accounted for the largest proportion at 51,696 companies (29.7%, 48,891 companies in 2022), followed by manufacturing at 27,021 companies (15.5%, 26,104 companies in 2022), and accommodation and food service at 26,495 companies (15.2%, 24,836 companies in 2022).
Looking at the characteristics of representative disabilities by type, physical disabilities were found in 120,416 companies (69.1%), visual disabilities in 17,995 companies (10.3%), and hearing disabilities in 13,852 companies (7.9%), in that order. In terms of the degree of disability of representative disabilities, severe disabilities (severe grades 1-3) were found in 28,909 companies (16.6%), while mild disabilities (mild grades 4-6) were found in 144,837 companies, accounting for 83.1% of the total.
Next, looking at the company's management performance, the total number of employees is 578,280 (544,840 in 2022, a 6.1% increase), and among them, the number of disabled employees is 183,861 (175,581 in 2022, a 4.7% increase), accounting for 31.8% of the total number of employees.
The total sales of disabled enterprises were found to be KRW 69.6601 trillion (KRW 75.1368 trillion in 2022, a 7.3% decrease), and operating profit was KRW 6.5326 trillion (KRW 7.6212 trillion in 2022, a 14.3% decrease).
Looking at the debt status newly included in the survey items this time, out of 174,344 total companies, 81,475 companies (46.7%, 71,023 small and medium-sized businesses and 10,452 small and medium-sized businesses) held debt, and the total debt amounted to 31.9 trillion won, with an average debt amount of 180 million won (110 million won for small and medium-sized businesses and 1 billion won for small and medium-sized businesses).
In a survey of other support policies desired by disabled businesses, finance (63.9%) was the highest, followed by taxation (54.8%) and sales channels (37.7%).
Lee Dae-geon, the director of the Small Business Policy Bureau at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, said, “The survey on the status of businesses owned by the disabled is a policy compass that captures the reality of businesses owned by the disabled,” and added, “Based on the results of this survey, we will further strengthen customized support policies tailored to the growth stage of businesses owned by the disabled and pursue effective policies to strengthen the foundation for self-reliance of businesses owned by the disabled.”
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