Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) Chairman Ryu Jin, center, applauds with the federation's vice chairpersons, including Samyang Roundsquare CEO Kim Jung-soo, fourth from left, and Youngone Holdings CEO Sung Rae-eun, fourth from right, in this undated photo. Courtesy of FKI

Korean companies still seem to have a long way to go in terms of women's representation in leadership positions, although they have made a series of efforts to improve gender equality, according to Women in INnovation (WIN), an association consisting of female executives at Korean companies and foreign firms here.

WIN recently revealed the findings of Leaders Index, after the corporate tracker analyzed 353 companies among Korea's 500 largest firms by revenue.

According to the analysis, the proportion of their female executives rose to 7.3 percent this year from 7 percent in 2023, 6.3 percent in 2022, 5.5 percent in 2021 and 3.9 percent in 2019.

The growth was attributed mainly to the passage of a partial amendment to the Financial Services and Capital Markets Act in 2020, which mandates that a listed company with total assets of at least 2 trillion won ($1.5 billion) must not have an all-male or all-female board and should comply with this requirement within two years from the effective date of the amendment.

However, the analysis showed that those firms have largely circumvented the regulation by appointing women as outside directors, instead of giving executive positions to female employees.

Between 2020 and 2024, the proportion of outside directors who are women at the 353 companies jumped to 16.4 percent from 5.5 percent, while the proportion of female inside directors inched up to 3.8 percent from 2 percent, according to the analysis.

The proportion of their female employees also stood at around 26 percent from 2019 to 2024.

"Although the number of women in executive positions has increased after the revision of the Capital Markets Act, companies need to take follow-up measures to nurture candidates to become female executives," WIN President Suh Ji-hee said.

"Amid the complex and uncertain business environment, it has become more important to embrace diversity and equality."

Members of Women in INnovation (WIN) pose during the seventh WIN Forum at EL Tower in Seoul, Tuesday. Courtesy of WIN

Earlier this week, the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) appointed Samyang Roundsquare CEO Kim Jung-soo and Youngone Holdings CEO Sung Rae-eun as new vice chairpersons. Kim is a daughter-in-law of the food firm's late founder Chun Joong-yoon. Sung is the second-oldest daughter of the apparel maker's founder Sung Ki-hak.

This is the first time in 25 years for the business lobby to give a vice chairperson seat to a woman, since Aekyung Group Chairwoman Chang Young-shin assumed the position in 1999.

"With the appointment of the businesswomen, we will follow the changing trends and listen to the opinions of various sectors to become more dynamic," an FKI official said.

But still, the FKI chairman and 12 other vice chairpersons are all men.

Among the 25 vice chairpersons of the Seoul Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which is led by Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry and SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, the only woman is Hyundai Group Chairwoman Hyun Jeong-eun, daughter-in-law of late Hyundai Group founder Chung Ju-yung.

The Korea Enterprises Federation, another major business lobby, lacks female leadership.

In contrast, the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea, the largest foreign business lobby here, has nine women on its 29-member board of governors.

The Korean-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the second-largest foreign chamber here, has Deutsche Bank Seoul Branch Manager Park Hyun-nam as one of its two chairpersons. She is the first female head of a domestic and foreign investment bank in Korea.

The British Chamber of Commerce in Korea is led by Executive Director Lucinda Walker, who introduces herself as a working woman in Korea and a mother of a Korean citizen. The chamber is a partner of the British Embassy in Korea, led by Ambassador Colin Crooks, who boycotted the unification ministry's forum held earlier this month, citing women's underrepresentation.