Signal Self-employed closures topped one million in 2024 as small businesses struggle

Summary

The government reports that closures of self-employed businesses exceeded one million in 2024 for the first time on record. It explains that structural weakness in domestic demand under export-led growth, pandemic-era borrowing followed by higher interest rates and a digital divide have deepened the hardship of small merchants. A Bank of Korea study from May 2025 attributes half of the 1.6 percentage point fall in private consumption growth over twelve years to demographic change. In a 2024 survey, 82 percent of small merchants agreed that digital technology is needed, yet only 31 percent had adopted it. The government presents these figures as part of the evidence that growth is benefiting only a few.