High proportion of manufacturing and relatively stable financial structure… Vulnerable to market expansion, promotion, and policy accessibility

Proposed 4 major policy tasks including AI-based customized startup support and B2B enterprise matching

While the number of one-person creative enterprises in Chungnam has surpassed 40,000, a suggestion has emerged that, for their sustainable growth, policies should shift away from the existing supplier-centric support model toward a customized growth support system leveraging AI and data.

The Chungnam Institute (President Won Sung-su) recently analyzed the management status and key characteristics of one-person creative enterprises in Chungnam through an infographic titled "Everyone's Startup Story Unfolding in Chungnam," presenting future-oriented policy directions for the AI transformation (AX) era.

According to the analysis by research fellow Lee Min-jung, researcher Han Gyu-ri, and other research team members at the Chungnam Institute, the total number of "one-person creative enterprises" in Chungnam (including joint businesses with fewer than 5 employees operating without regular workers) stood at 40,688, accounting for 3.5% of the national total and ranking 8th nationwide. As of 2025, the number of one-person creative enterprises nationwide reached 1,162,529, a 15.4% increase from the previous year, with 57.4% of them concentrated in the capital region.

Looking at the industry distribution in Chungnam, manufacturing accounted for the highest share at 30.6%, followed by educational services (18.5%) and e-commerce (14.8%). Notably, the proportions of manufacturing and educational services were higher than the national averages, while e-commerce was relatively lower, suggesting that Chungnam's regional industrial structure is reflected in its one-person startups.

In terms of management status, a relatively stable financial structure was confirmed. The average sales revenue of one-person creative enterprises in Chungnam recorded 231.54 million won, slightly lower than the national average (236.12 million won). However, the average debt stood at 40.9 million won, approximately 29% lower than the national average (57.36 million won). Net income was 36.09 million won, slightly exceeding the national average (34.84 million won).

Conversely, difficulties in the startup and management processes were also revealed. The primary management bottlenecks for Chungnam's one-person creative enterprises were securing sales channels (23.6%) and promotion/marketing (20.3%). Regarding methods for pioneering major client accounts, dependence on offline store promotions remained high at 48.5%, while the usage rate of the internet and social media stood at 20.7%, lower than the national average (27.2%).

Improvements are especially needed in terms of policy support accessibility and effectiveness. Among enterprises aware of support programs, the proportion of those that actually received support was 4.2%, falling significantly short of the national average (10.8%). Responses indicating they had never applied for support reached 93.6%, and 40.8% reported that they were completely unaware of any support programs.

Furthermore, responses stating there were no desired support programs stood at 49.8%, higher than the national average (35.8%), indicating a need for policy designs that match enterprises' actual demands rather than simply expanding the scale of support.

Accordingly, the research team emphasized a transition from "providing policies" to "connecting policies," proposing four major policy tasks:

First, they proposed "(Tentative) Chungnam AI Startup Support Navigator," an automated system that recommends suitable support programs based on enterprise data. The goal is to move away from enterprises having to search for support programs themselves and transition into a system where policies matching enterprise characteristics and demands are connected first.

Other proposals include "Chungnam One-Person Creative Enterprise B2B AI Matching," which connects the bidding, outsourcing, and technology demands of regional enterprises with the products and expertise of one-person creative enterprises; "Customized Micro-Growth Finance," which provides phased support based on growth potential by utilizing data such as card sales and B2B transaction performance; and the creation of "Decentralized Startup Hubs" equipped with filming studios and prototype production equipment by utilizing idle spaces in traditional markets and industrial complex support facilities.

Research Fellow Lee Min-jung emphasized, "One-person creative enterprises are economic entities that can flexibly connect diverse demands of regional manufacturing and service industries and create new added value. Future startup policies depend not on how many enterprises were supported, but on how many new transactions and growth opportunities individual enterprises secured within the regional industrial ecosystem. Therefore, AI transformation must also serve as a means to enhance the market accessibility and competitiveness of small-scale startups."

Meanwhile, this infographic was compiled based on the Ministry of SMEs and Startups' announcement data on the "2025 One-Person Creative Enterprise Survey" and MDIS analysis data from the "2024 One-Person Creative Enterprise Survey."

[ⓒ Global Economic Times. 무단전재-재배포 금지]