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Women make up over 8% of executives at Korean firms for first time

Published: 08 Jul. 2025, 09:06 Updated: 08 Jul. 2025, 14:43

This file photo taken on Nov. 13, 2024, shows a meeting of female businesspeople held in Kintex in Goyang, Gyeonggi. [YONHAP]

The proportion of female executives at Korea's top companies has more than doubled over the past six years to surpass 8 percent for the first time, an industry report showed Tuesday.

According to corporate tracker Leaders Index, an analysis of 376 companies among the top 500 firms with quarterly reports published shows that 1,210 women held executive positions as of the first quarter of this year, accounting for 8.1 percent of a total of 15,016 executive positions.

The number of female executives has more than doubled from 505 in 2019, when they made up 3.8 percent of total executives. The tally grew especially after amendments to the Capital Market Act in 2022, with the number exceeding 1,000 for the first time in 2023.

In particular, the number of outside female directors has surged to drive the overall increase. The number of female outside directors soared from 38 to 292 during the past six years.

By industry, consumer-related sectors had the highest proportion of female executives, with household goods, pharmaceuticals, services and food and beverages all showing double-digit female executive representation.

Meanwhile, traditionally male-dominated industries, such as shipbuilding and machinery, energy and construction, each had less than 5 percent of executive roles held by women, the report showed.

Yonhap