Increasing competition emerges as top business risk for South Korean organisations: Survey

Half of South Korean respondents report financial losses linked to competition, while workplace safety, financial pressures, and cybersecurity remain key concerns.

Increasing competition has emerged as the top business risk facing South Korean organisations, and was also expected to remain the leading risk over the next three years, according to the latest 2025 Global Risk Management Survey by Aon.

The survey, which gathered responses from nearly 3,000 organisations across 63 countries and 16 industries, painted a picture of a risk landscape increasingly shaped by digital transformation, economic uncertainty, geopolitical pressures, and climate exposure.

Among South Korean respondents, half reported financial losses linked to competition, exceeding both the Asia Pacific (APAC) benchmark of 44.1% across APAC and the global benchmark of 42.8%.

Despite the impact, only 17.4% said they had a formal plan or review process in place to manage competition-related risks.

While competition topped the rankings, workplace safety remains a major priority. Nearly two-thirds (64.3%) of South Korean organisations reported having a plan or formal review process in place for work injuries, while 57.1% are evaluating insurance or risk-transfer solutions to manage the exposure.

Financial resilience is also becoming a growing concern. ‘Cash flow and liquidity risk’ returned to South Korea’s top 10 business risks for the first time since 2019, ranking ninth overall. More than three-quarters (78.6%) already had a plan or formal review in place for liquidity risk, making it the most actively managed risk among the top-ranked concerns.

At the same time, ‘weather and natural disasters’ rose to sixth place, reflecting concerns over the business and financial impact of extreme weather events following recent wildfires and flooding.

Cybersecurity concerns are also intensifying. ‘Cyber attacks and data breaches’ ranked tenth among current risks and climbed to fifth place in the future risk ranking.

2025 Top 10 business risks for South Korea

1. Increasing competition
2. Economic slowdown / slow recovery
3. Business interruption
4. Work injuries
5. Property damage
6. Weather / natural disasters
7. Regulatory / legislative changes
8. Exchange rate fluctuation
9. Cash flow / liquidity risk
10. Cyber attacks / data breach

Top future risks for business growth

1. Increasing competition
2. Economic slowdown / slow recovery
3. Work injuries
4. Regulatory / legislative changes
5. Cyber attacks / data breach

However, the findings suggested many organisations still lack mature risk management practices. Only one-quarter (25%) of respondents reported using a structured enterprise-wide process to identify major risks, while just 2.9% said they use quantitative analytics tools to model risk scenarios and insurance strategies.