The study aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of Korea’s youth social entrepreneurship ecosystem and derive actionable policy recommendations. A secondary objective is to present Korea’s entrepreneurship policies as a reference framework for other countries seeking to strengthen their own ecosystems. While Korea’s policies have limitations and may not be directly transferable due to differing socioeconomic contexts, they offer valuable insights. Examining Korea’s experience can provide other nations with both exemplary practices and cautionary lessons for designing policies that are contextually relevant and effectively address local challenges.
The study covers all 17 metropolitan areas and provinces of Korea and focuses on the years 2023 and 2024. It examines stakeholders within the entrepreneurship ecosystem, with a particular focus on youth social entrepreneurship. In Korea, the legal definition of “youth” follows the Support for Small and Medium Enterprise Establishment Act, where a young person-owned startup is led by a representative aged 39 or younger, and an aspiring young business starter is an individual aged 39 or younger planning to establish a business. The upper age limit reflects Korea’s rapid aging trend, with the proportion of people aged 65 and over reaching 19.2 percent in 2024 and a median age of 46.1 years.
Startups in Korea are typically defined based on their establishment as legal entities, with a business age limit of seven years for general startups and three years for early-stage startups. The concept of venture businesses emerged in 1995 with the establishment of the Korea Venture Business Association (KOVA), initially referring to technology-intensive SMEs based on research and development. Similarly, social enterprises are legally defined and supported under the Social Enterprise Promotion Act, applying commercial strategies to achieve social, financial, and environmental goals while providing services or employment to vulnerable groups. Certification is required for entities to operate as social enterprises.
The research methodology primarily relied on desk research, using secondary sources such as literature, reports, statistical data, news articles, government releases, and policy documents. National statistics from Statistics Korea (KOSIS) were used for social demographic data, while startup-related statistics were drawn from administrative data provided by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups. Additional insights came from private associations and public incubation institutes such as the Korea Venture Capital Association, Korea Business Angels Association, and Korea Institute of Startup and Entrepreneurship Development. In-depth interviews were also conducted with experts from key public incubation centers and entrepreneurship organizations.
The study applies Youth Co:Lab’s ecosystem diagnostic framework to analyze the state of youth social entrepreneurship in Korea. This framework facilitates comparative analysis with previous studies conducted in Bangladesh, Indonesia, Singapore, and Pakistan, enabling insights into common challenges and best practices for fostering youth-led social ventures.
