A Survey of Locations and Initial Conditions of Technology-Based Start-Ups

The Korean economy has seen a prolonged low-growth trend since 2000, and the employment elasticity of growth is slowing down as the industrial structure advances. As a result, the existing companies are not creating sufficient jobs while their restructuring has become frequent. There is a prominent need for more start-ups in order to absorb job seekers arising from this trend, but the reality is that most start-ups are low-capital and low-technology businesses such as restaurants whose objective is to make a living.This type of start-ups is highly likely to be short-lived, and there is a structural limitation that prevents them from creating jobs continuously. To create jobs, therefore, it is very important to enable companies with a certain level of technology to start their business and endure lasting stability and high growth.In this respect, this study separated technology-based start-ups with strong technical skills and other start-ups, and compared these two groups in terms of key elements of start-ups such as location, human resources and employment, tangible and intangible assets, technology and commercialization through conducting a survey. Through the survey, this study attempted to examine the contributing factors for job creation by company type (whether it is a technology-based start-up) and regional characteristics (whether it is located in the capital area), and suggest policy measures