Lotte disfavors women executives

By Kim Tae-gyu

Staff reporter

If Lotte Group Chairman Shin Kyuk-ho summoned all the executives of the group's subsidiaries would he be surprised to learn that all but one of the executives are male? The sole exception being Lotte Shopping head Shin Young-ja, the very daughter of Shin himself, who founded the conglomerate in 1948.

As the operator of the nation's largest department store chain, Lotte Shopping is the iconic unit of Lotte Group.

``Korea is not a society famous for treating males and females equally. The opposite might be true. In consideration of male-oriented Confucian cultures, however, Lotte's case seems to be extreme,'' a Seoul analyst said.

``In particular, Lotte's flagship businesses are department stores, discount chains, fast food restaurants or amusement parks where feminine talent is necessary. I do not know why they do not employ female executives at all.''

When contacted, Lotte Group, Korea's fifth-largest conglomerate, refused to comment on the issue.

A total of 22 women out of around 1,700 are at the executive level at the nation's top chaebol, Samsung Group. The number is 15 for LG Group, five for SK Group and two for Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group.

The above-mentioned four conglomerates and Lotte are the foremost chaebol of Asia's fourth-largest economy. Chaebol refers to Korea's sprawling business empires in which their founding families exert almost unchecked control despite small direct shareholdings.

``In the past, heavy industries shunned women outright. They were believed to cause accidents in the shipbuilding or steel-making industries. Things have changed much over the past decades but we still have a long way to go,'' the analyst said.

``Even with such a perspective, Lotte case is strange. Heavy industries are not their main targets. I have no idea why the group prefers masculine talent that much at the executive level.''

The Korea Businesswomen's Federation (KBF) expects that the gender inequality will improve down the road although the pace is not fast enough.

``Currently, the number of businesswomen topped the 1 million mark. Yet, most of them are self-employed or work for small enterprises. Women fail to exert their power in large companies,'' KBF Secretary General Lee Wan-sun said.

``The time-honored preference for males here may explain the gender asymmetry to some extent. As an increasing number of women have reached junior management levels, I think that things will be different down the road.''

롯데, 현대 왜 여성 임원 안 뽑나?

신격호 롯데그룹 회장은 그룹 자회사 임원들을 소집해보면 한 명 빼고 모두 남자라는 것을 보고 놀라지 않을까요? 유일한 여성 임원은 신영자 롯데쇼핑 사장으로 1948년 이 재벌을 세운 신회장 본인의 딸이다.

국내 최대 백화점 체인 운영업체로 롯데쇼핑은 롯데그룹의 상징적인 사업체이다.

서울의 한 기업 분석가는 "한국은 남녀를 불평등하게 대우하는 사회로 유명하다. 그 반대가 사실일 지도 모른다. 그러나, 남성 위주의 유교 문화를 감안하면 롯데의 경우는 너무 심한 것 같다"고 말했다.

"특히, 롯데의 핵심 사업체들은 여성의 능력을 필요로 하는 백화점과 디스카운트 체인, 패스트푸드 음식점 또는 놀이공원들이다. 그들이 여성임원들을 고용하지 않는 이유를 모르겠습니다."

국내 5위 재벌인 롯데의 접촉을 시도했으나 이 문제에 언급을 회피했다.

국내 최대 그룹인 삼성의 임원급 이상으로 1,700여명 가운데 여성은 22명이다. LG 는 15명, SK 그룹은 5명, 현대-기아 자동차그룹은 2명이다.