월 매출 1억 찍고도 요즘 카페들 줄줄이 망하는 이유ㅣ지식인초대석: 합석 EP.11 (이장원 X 유정수)

This is a common characteristic of failing business owners that is chillingly true: the thought that business people will consistently take a certain amount of money every month is fundamentally flawed.

And how much is the revenue? 90% is full? Don't say something ridiculous. It's really not true.

Self-employed people are anxious whether they are making money or not, and when are they comfortable? They are uncomfortable, that's why they are business owners.

This world is not that easy. Hello, I'm Han Seok-jun.

A special interview that doubles the depth of knowledge. Today, we have the mentor of South Korean self-employed people, CEO Yoo Jeong-soo.

And we are joined by two of South Korea's top tax accountants, Tax Accountant Lee Jang-won and another.

Today, this time is especially for those who are self-employed or are contemplating whether to start a business.

Or for those who are struggling and wondering how to close their business, I hope you watch this video until the end. Welcome, both of you. Nice to meet you.

Do you two know each other? It's not that you were directly excluded, but there seems to be a connection. Is that right? What kind of connection is it?

Actually, CEO Yoo Jeong-soo is a mentor for self-employed people, but he is also more famous in the real estate sector.

In commercial real estate, the ability to create space is incredibly important, and he does that exceptionally well, to the point where he is almost irreplaceable in South Korea.

Then I want to ask CEO Yoo Jeong-soo one thing: I think each store is also content.

How can that content be recognized by people around and encourage them to come and consume here?

That seems to be the most difficult part. For example, among people living in Seoul,

most of us wonder where to meet, but when we ask where to go, if it's not right in front of my house,

even if we've been to places like Hongdae or Seongsu-dong, there are often times when not a single store comes to mind.

That can happen. It's not because all the stores we visited before were bad. Even if there were good stores, they just don't stick in our memory.

This store must create a memorable point. A cafe that rains 365 days?

There was a hot spring in the middle of the store. There was a cow in the middle of the store, and a robot cow was walking around.

Things like this remain in our minds as points that attract customers.

When deciding where to go, people first remember the places that were the tastiest or the best, not in order, but by memorable points; that branding seems important.

These days, self-employed people say they are really struggling too much.

So many people are contemplating whether to close their businesses, and there are statistics on this.

It is said that the number of business owners filing for closure, including individuals and corporations, has exceeded 1 million.

Since 1995, this statistic has been tracked, and it is said to be the highest number since then.

Since 1995, this statistic has been tracked, and it's said to be the highest number since then.

First of all, the proportion of self-employed individuals is too high. To what extent? The population and various factors are similar between Seoul and New York.

The number of cafes in Seoul is 11 times greater than in New York, fluctuating between 9 to 10 million.

It's not 1.1 times, but 11 times? There are 11 times more. And in terms of restaurants, Tokyo is known for having a lot of restaurants globally.

Tokyo is almost at the top in the world, yet the number of restaurants is only half that of Seoul. Even with that many.

So, Seoul has an overwhelmingly high number of F&B establishments not only in the OECD but globally per city.

However, unfortunately, our self-employment is concentrated in F&B.

This number is actually difficult for the government to handle; they need to provide support but also need restructuring.

If we don't reduce the overall ratio, there isn't really a way for both you and I to make money here.

As a result, it seems that among the various supports from the government, policies for business closures have increased more than before.

How can we help you close properly? This issue seems to be quite serious.

There's no need to assist with starting a business. It's too difficult for the self-employed who are currently operating.

Should we perhaps regulate starting a business a bit? It's too easy to start a business here. Is it difficult in other countries?

We were preparing to open our first store in the U.S. in 2024, but we actually opened in the spring of 2025.

It took a year, and for instance, when you apply for a fire inspection, it takes more than three days to get the inspection done.

Then the complaints come in immediately. We get it done quickly. But in the U.S., it takes six weeks.

If you were supposed to come tomorrow but suddenly have to add another store, it gets pushed back to six weeks.

The fire inspector comes separately, and the electrical inspector inside comes separately as well.

So basically, even doing interior construction takes about three times longer, and for those doing business here, it would take at least a year and a half from when we first started.

So what are you talking about? Does this make sense? But in reality, it was miraculous that we opened in a year. You did it really quickly.

That's what I'm saying. This isn't a good thing. The administrative procedures are slow, and this naturally becomes a barrier.

Because you have to be in a state of investing money without making any for a year, right? Only those with real determination will filter through.