{
  "id": 19067969,
  "title": "Female Executives at South Korea’s Top 100 Firms Hit Record 491",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/09/female-executives-at-south-koreas-top-100-firms-hit-record-491",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-11-09T02:26:51.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "BusinessKorea",
    "slug": "businesskorea",
    "url": "https://www.businesskorea.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=280776"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "For the first time, female executives at South Korea's top 100 companies have surpassed 491, marking a new record. However, women still represent only 6.6% of all executive positions, a figure that has hovered around the 6% mark for four consecutive years. This data comes from the \"2026 Survey on Female Executives at South Korea’s Top 100 Companies,\" released by the Korea CXO Research Institute on November 9. The survey, which covered the 100 largest listed companies based on revenue, found that the number of female executives increased by 3.2% from last year, rising from 476 to 491. This represents a significant 19 companies with no female executives, predominantly in traditional heavy industries like shipbuilding, steel, and aerospace. Despite the numerical gains, the proportion of female executives relative to all executives has remained stagnant. Samsung Electronics leads with 80 female executives, followed by Naver with 28, Hyundai Motor with 22, and CJ CheilJedang with 21. Among these, CJ CheilJedang stands out with the highest proportion of women in its executive ranks at 20.8%, the only company surpassing 20%. The pace of growth has slowed, with annual increases in female executives being in the teens for the past two years, compared to larger gains in earlier years. Experts suggest that companies must address the challenges of securing talent as the working-age population declines and strengthen the pipeline of potential female executive candidates through systematic development of middle managers.",
  "summary": "The number of female executives at South Korea’s top 100 companies has surpassed 490 for the first time, setting a new record. Yet women account for just 6.6% of all executive positions, a share that has remained in the 6% range for four consecutive years, underscoring the persistent glass ceiling a",
  "key_points": [
    "Female executives at top 100 South Korean firms exceed 491, setting a new record.",
    "Women account for 6.6% of executive positions, stagnant for four years.",
    "Samsung Electronics leads with 80 female executives, followed by Naver and Hyundai Motor."
  ],
  "editors_take": "While the raw number of female leaders is rising, the stagnant percentage of women in top roles suggests that structural barriers continue to prevent meaningful gender parity across major industries.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}