INCHEON — Seven out of 10 small business owners in Incheon cited financial support as the most needed policy measure, according to a new survey. The finding reflects the reality that entrepreneurs must fund 70% of their startup costs from personal savings.
According to the "2025 Incheon Small Business Owner Life Report" released Wednesday by the Incheon Credit Guarantee Foundation, the average startup cost for small businesses in Incheon is 94.92 million won ($67,000). Of this amount, 69.8%, or 66.29 million won, was funded through personal savings. "Raising capital" was cited as the biggest challenge at the time of starting a business by 44.0% of respondents, the highest among all responses.
The report is the first comprehensive survey covering the entire business lifecycle of 2,500 small businesses in Incheon, from startup preparation to current operations and policy needs, based on field data.
In business operations, respondents identified "intensifying competition within the same industry" (43.8%) and "declining commercial districts" (43.4%) as major challenges. Among needed support policies, "financial support" was overwhelmingly the top choice at 71.4%, followed by "tax support" (60.2%).
Only 3.2% of respondents said they were considering closing their businesses. However, reasons for continuing operations were largely passive: "no viable alternative" (62.2%) and "hope for economic recovery" (61.1%). This suggests a business environment characterized more by survival than active pursuit of growth.
Job satisfaction was rated as "positive" by 44.0% and "negative" by 11.8% of respondents. Meanwhile, 44.4% reported "high" levels of work fatigue, indicating that satisfaction and burden coexist.
"We hope this report will serve as foundational data for designing more refined support policies for local small business owners," said Lee Bu-hyun, chairman of the Incheon Credit Guarantee Foundation.
The report is available for free download on the Incheon Credit Guarantee Foundation website and the Incheon Small Business Support Portal "Seongjang-daero."