FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Feb. 14, 2025
2024 Venture Investment of KRW 11.9 Trillion and Fund Formation of KRW 10.6 Trillion
SEJONG – The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) announced on Thursday, February 13, the trends in domestic venture investment and fund formation for 2024. The total venture investment for 2024 is projected to reach KRW 11.9 trillion, marking a 47.5% increase compared to pre-COVID-19 levels (2020) and a 9.5% increase compared to 2023. This reflects a successful rebound after a period of decline since 2021, signaling the continuation of a medium- to long-term growth trend.
< Venture Investment Trends Over the Past Five Years (Unit: KRW 100 million, Number of companies) >
| Classification |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
2024 |
|
| Year-on-Year (%) |
| Investment Amount |
80,962 |
159,371 |
124,706 |
109,133 |
119,457 |
+9.5% |
| Number of Invested Companies |
3,782 |
4,589 |
4,002 |
4,026 |
4,697 |
+16.7% |
Meanwhile, global venture investment decreased by 17.1% compared to 2020 and showed a slight decline of 0.1% compared to 2023, indicating that the Korean venture investment market is recovering more strongly than the global market.
Looking at quarterly venture investment performance, the total venture investment in the fourth quarter increased by 5% compared to the third quarter (1st quarter: KRW 2.0 trillion → 2nd quarter: KRW 3.5 trillion → 3rd quarter: KRW 3.2 trillion → 4th quarter: KRW 3.3 trillion). This also reflects a positive trend, as it is 10% higher than the quarterly average of KRW 3.0 trillion over the past five years (2020-2024).
In terms of sector-specific investments, there has been a significant rise in interest in artificial intelligence (AI), leading to a 38% increase in investment in the ‘ICT Services’ sector compared to 2023. On the other hand, investments in the ‘Video, Performance, and Music’ sector saw a decline of 23.7%.
The fund formation amount for 2024 is set at KRW 10.6 trillion, reflecting a 5.7% increase compared to 2020. In contrast, global venture fund formation has decreased by 52.6%, highlighting that Korea’s venture fund formation continues to demonstrate a relatively strong trend compared to global patterns.
< Trends in Global Venture Investment and Fund Formation Over the Past Five Years (Unit: (Korea) KRW 100 million, (Global) USD 1 billion) >
| Classification |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
2024 |
| Venture Investment |
Korea |
80,962 |
159,371 |
124,706 |
109,133 |
119,457 |
| Worldwide |
398 |
792 |
508 |
330 |
330 |
| Fund Formation |
Korea |
99,859 |
178,481 |
176,401 |
130,328 |
105,550 |
| Worldwide |
230 |
334 |
320 |
135 |
109 |
* (Source) Worldwide: Preqin, a global private equity and venture capital market research firm
The government is undertaking various policy initiatives to further accelerate the current recovery trend in the domestic venture investment market. In January, the full budget for the MSS’ Fund of Funds investment (KRW 1 trillion) was announced to provide early-stage funding, and the scale of fund investments in key policy areas, such as early-stage startups and regional development, will be significantly expanded.
Minister Oh Youngju stated, “The scale of venture investment in Korea is steadily growing, even amid the challenging global market conditions in 2024.” She added, “We will diligently implement the ‘Venture Investment Market Advancement Plan,’ announced in October 2023, incorporate feedback from the field, and continuously work to create a world-class venture investment ecosystem by easing regulations.”