Female leaders in finance consolidate presence
Financial Services Commission (FSC) Vice Chairman Sohn Byung-doo speaks during a breakfast seminar hosted by the Korea Network of Women in Finance at the Korea Federation of Banks headquarters in central Seoul, Tuesday. / Korea Times photo by Kim Bo-eun
By Kim Bo-eun
Despite the cold of December, executives and managers of banks and state-run financial institutions flocked to the Korea Federation of Banks headquarters in central Seoul at the break of dawn, Tuesday.
They greeted each other and caught up with recent developments over a bowl of porridge, before tuning into the lecturer of the day.
Everything seemed familiar except that out of the 70 people present at the breakfast seminar, only four people were men.
The event held every few months is a meeting of an organization named the Korea Network of Women in Finance (KNWF), led by Kim Sang-kyung, the CEO of the Korea International Finance Institute.
Kim Sang-kyung
Kim is Korea's first female foreign exchange dealer, and has worked for Standard Chartered Bank, American Express and the Bank of China.
Under Kim's leadership, the meetings first began in 2003. The seminars have invited figures including Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, heads of the Financial Services Commission, Financial Supervisory Service, financial groups, banks, asset management firms as well as lawmakers and professors.
They seek to help women in finance build networks and heighten their expertise through seminars.
In 2003, there were about 40 participants with hardly any senior executives. Now the organization has about 180 members. KB Securities co-CEO Park Jeong-rim, the first female chief of a brokerage, is a member.
Tuesday's meeting was the last meeting of the year.
The lecturer of the day was Financial Services Commission (FSC) Vice Chairman Sohn Byung-doo, one of the few men in the room.
Participants listened attentively and took pictures of Sohn's PPT slides as he spoke about the changing financial environment and the necessary policies. Standard Chartered Bank Korea CEO Park Jong-bok was among the other males present.
Sohn also mentioned recent developments to improve gender equality on the boards of companies.
A bill on gender representation on boards was passed at the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, Nov. 27, but still has yet to pass a vote at the National Assembly.
While the original bill intended on banning listed companies with total assets exceeding 2 trillion won from making a single gender comprise two thirds of board members, the bill was changed so that it states companies "make efforts" to do so.
This shows there is still a long way to go.
Kim urged the FSC to play a role in getting better gender representation on the boards an area of supervision.
“In 2003, there were hardly any female bank branch heads. Now 6 percent to 7 percent of bank branch heads are women and we have an increasing number of senior executives as well as several CEOs, which shows a lot of progress,” Kim said.
“Our organization is very tight, but we began inviting male leaders as well this year. This is because men need to change, as most of the time they are the ones who appoint executives.”
The organization is set to continue to serve as a place for female managers and executives in the finance sector to seek and provide advice and help.
“I first joined the group in 2011, when I was a director,” said Kim Kyung-ja, executive director at Export Import Bank of Korea (Eximbank).
“It was uplifting to take part in the sessions because at my work place, I was the only female manager at the time. Here, I met seniors who encouraged me and provided me with advice and actual help.”
“Now I am also trying to help my juniors meet with members of the group, to try to pass on what I received,” she said.