Has glass ceiling cracked in big firms?

More Korean women promoted to executives in recent months

By Jun Ji-hye

More women appear to have received promotions to senior levels over the past three months at conglomerates and financial companies here. The proportion of women to men who were promoted to executives jumped to 3.3 percent during the span from 1.4 percent in 2014.

According to a recent report from CEOScore, a website that appraises corporate management, 1,968 employees were newly promoted to executive-level positions at conglomerates and financial firms from November to a recent date. Among them, 65 were women.

CEOScore said it compared the gender makeup of the executives at 240 affiliates of 19 conglomerates that recently conducted regular reshuffles, which typically take place between November and January.

The figure was double that of 2014 when only 38 women were on the promotion list out of 2,071 candidates in total.

Since then, the ratio of women to men in executive-level promotions rose to 2.3 percent in 2015 but remained stagnant at 2.2 percent in 2016 and 2.3 percent in 2017.

By groups, the nation’s second-largest mobile carrier KT promoted the most women to executive positions, with the proportion standing at 8.8 percent, followed by Mirae Asset’s 6.8 percent, Lotte’s 6.2 percent and POSCO’s 5.9 percent.

Samsung, Lotte, Hyundai Motor, LG and CJ promoted women to executives for five years in a row. Samsung awarded executive positions to 16 women and Lotte 13, while Hyundai Motor had three and LG seven. CJ promoted four women to executive-tier jobs.

Notably, Lotte Group appointed its first female CEO in its annual management reshuffle on Jan. 10, naming Sunwoo Young, who was managing director at Lotte Himart, as head of the group’s health and beauty products retail unit Lotte LOHB’s.

In a meeting with a group of reporters last week, Sunwoo said she will be able to make a difference as she knows more about what female customers want and when they feel difficulty.

“I believe it is a giant leap that Lotte Group appointed its first female CEO,” she said. “Many say the number of female executives is still insufficient, but I want to tell them to see matters positively as the appointment of female executives continues to expand.”

Among individual companies, Samsung Electronics promoted 10 women to executive-level positions, the only firm to show double-digit record.

Women have shown increasing influence in financial firms as well.

KB Insurance made five promotions for women, saying it plans to expand the ratio of women at executive positions to 20 percent by 2020.

Shinhan Financial Group promoted two women to be heads of departments for the first time since it was established in 2001.

Heavy industries and construction companies, however, remained in the lower ranks, with Daewoo Engineering & Construction, Doosan, LS, GS and Hyundai Heavy Industries not having promoted women this year.

Daewoo E&C and LS had no female promotions in the past five years.