[Photo] Study finds S. Korea has only 8 unicorn companies

Distribution of unicorn companies according to industry

Based on data from the US market research firm CB Insight’s analyzed by the Korea Economic Research Institute, South Korea has a mere total of eight unicorn companies. The US has 173, China 89, the UK 17, and India 16, putting South Korean in fifth place, tied with Germany. A unicorn company is a startup founded after 2003 with a value of more than US$1 billion. In proportion to the rest of the economy, one out of every 22 major US companies is a unicorn company; while one out of every 11 major Chinese companies is a unicorn company. Out Of the 10 major unicorn industries, South Korean firms occupied only four of them.