Background Despite widespread adoption and technological advances in laparoscopic liver resection (LLR), conversion to laparotomy can still occur unexpectedly. Several studies have explored risk factors of open conversion (OC). However, most of these studies were conducted before 2018 and included all patients who underwent surgery at an early stage after starting LLR. The purpose of this study was to analyze the incidence and risk factors of OC in patients within the past 5 years (2017–2021). Methods Patients who underwent LLR at Samsung Medical Center from January 2017 to December 2021 were investigated. The incidence and causes of OC were investigated and risk factors associated with OC were also analyzed. Results A total of, 1951 patients were investigated. OC was observed in 34 patients (1.74%). The percentage of previous surgeries (50% vs. 25.5%, P  < 0.001), history of hepatectomy (23.5% vs. 5.4%, P  = 0.002), multi-focal disease (29.4% vs. 13.9%, P  = 0.037), and posterosuperior (PS) location (64.7% vs. 39%, P  = 0.004) were higher in the OC group. The most common cause of OC was adhesion (44.1%). In the analysis of risk factors associated with OC, PS location (OR 2.79, P  = 0.007) and maximum tumor size (OR 0.92, P  = 0.037) were statistically significant factors in multivariate analysis. Conclusion The updated incidence of OC was 1.74%. The main cause of OC was adhesion. In addition, PS location and smaller tumor size were risk factors associated with OC.