The share of outside directors at South Korea’s top 30 conglomerate groups who come from the business community has topped 20% for the first time, while the share of newly appointed female outside directors hit a record high.
Leaders Index, a corporate analysis firm, said April 28 it reviewed 847 outside directors at 229 companies that filed business reports among the country’s top 30 groups by assets. It found the business-community share rose the most.
Outside directors with business backgrounds increased to 23.3% (197) this year, up from 16.4% (141) in 2024 and 19.2% (163) in 2025. It was the first time the figure exceeded 20% since the survey began.
By prior employer, the largest number had careers at Samsung and SK, with 11 each. They were followed by Hana Financial Group and Shinhan Financial Group with 10 each, and Hyundai Motor and LG with seven each.
By group, Lotte had the highest share of business-community outside directors: 29 of 59, or 47.5%. At SK, 31 of 80 outside directors, or 38.8%, were from the business community, the largest share within the group.
By contrast, Samsung, CJ and Shinsegae groups had high shares of former government officials. At CJ, 21 of 28 outside directors (75%) were from government; at Shinsegae, 13 of 20 (65%); and at Samsung, 33 of 60 (55%). Of the 67 government-background outside directors across the three groups, 20 previously worked at the prosecution, the judiciary or the Fair Trade Commission.
Hyundai Motor Group and LG Group had a majority from academia. At Hyundai Motor, 36 of 78 (46.2%) were from academia; at LG, 31 of 42 (73.8%).
By specialty, legal and policy was the largest category this year at 28.2% (239). The share in technology and tax has also risen steadily, from 14.8% (127) in 2024 to 15.1% (128) in 2025 and 16.5% (140) in 2026.
Women also reached a record share among new outside directors. Of 122 newly appointed outside directors this year, 42 (25.0%) were women. Women accounted for 197 of all 847 outside directors, or 23.2%.
Among female outside directors, 42.1% had academic backgrounds, followed by business (26.4%) and government (16.2%).
* This article has been translated by AI.
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