Female Executives in Korea's Top Companies Surpass 8% for the First Time

By: GWL team | Tuesday, 8 July 2025

Over the previous six years, the percentage of female executives at South Korea's leading companies has more than doubled
As of this year's first quarter, 1,210 women held executive positions, accounting for 8.1% of the 15,016 total

The proportion of female managers at South Korea's leading firms has more than doubled in the last six years, reaching above 8 percent for the first time, a report published on Tuesday says.

A study by corporate monitor Leaders Index, which analyzed 376 of the largest 500 companies that release quarterly statements, discovered that as of the first quarter of this year, 1,210 women were serving on the executive level—8.1 percent of a total of 15,016 executive positions.

This represents a substantial increase from 2019, when just 505 women (3.8 percent) occupied such roles. The increase has been very strong since the 2022 amending of the Capital Market Act, with women executives exceeding 1,000 for the first time in 2023.

Most of that growth can be attributed to the growth in female outside directors, whose ranks grew exponentially from 38 in 2019 to 292 in 2024.

Consumer-focused industries like services, pharmaceuticals, foods and beverages, and home goods posted the highest percentages of female representation among executives, with double-digit figures. Meanwhile, women are underrepresented in the typically male fields of machinery, energy, shipbuilding, and construction, where they hold fewer than 5 percent of executive positions.

The ratio of women executives at South Korea's largest businesses has risen by more than two-fold in the past six years and topped 8 percent for the first time, a corporate monitor Leaders Index recently reported. Based on a survey of 376 of the nation's leading 500 companies, 1,210 women held executive roles as of the first quarter of 2024, representing 8.1 percent of the total of 15,016 executives. This is a remarkable rise compared to 2019, when there were just 505 women (or 3.8 percent) occupying such positions.