KOSDAQ CEOs Are Aging... 36.7% Are Over 60 Years Old

Average Age of KOSDAQ CEOs 56.9 Years
Proportion of Female CEOs Decreased by 0.1 Percentage Points from Previous Year... Only 3.5%

[Asia Economy Reporter Gong Byung-sun] CEOs of KOSDAQ companies are aging. This year, the proportion of those aged 60 and over reached 36.7%, an increase of 9.1 percentage points over two years.

On the 5th, the KOSDAQ Association announced the status of executives of KOSDAQ-listed companies in 2021. This survey was conducted on 1,496 KOSDAQ companies and 1,807 CEOs as of May 3.

The survey results showed a rapid increase in CEOs aged 60 and over. The proportion of CEOs aged 60 and above rose from 27.6% in 2019 to 36.7% this year, an increase of 9.1 percentage points over two years.

The average age of KOSDAQ CEOs was 56.9 years, with those in their 50s accounting for the largest share at 44.5%. This was followed by those in their 60s at 29.9%, 40s at 16.8%, and 70s at 5.5%. The proportions of CEOs in their 50s and 40s decreased by 1.5 and 2.2 percentage points respectively compared to the previous year, while those in their 60s increased by 3.8 percentage points.

The number of female CEOs slightly increased from 61 last year to 64 this year, but their proportion decreased by 0.1 percentage points from the previous year, accounting for only 3.5%. The total number of registered executives in KOSDAQ companies was 8,524, averaging 5.7 per company. The total number of employees was 320,466, averaging 214.2 per company.

Regarding the highest educational attainment of CEOs, university graduates accounted for the largest share at 47.2%, followed by master's degree holders at 24.7%, and doctoral degree holders at 16.9%. The combined proportion of master's and doctoral degrees was 41.6%, an increase of 2.8 percentage points from the previous year. Seoul National University was the most common alma mater at 18.9%, followed by Yonsei University at 10.4%, Hanyang University at 6.9%, and Korea University at 6.5%. In terms of majors, science and engineering accounted for 46.2%, business and economics 38.6%, and humanities and social sciences 7.4%. The most common majors were Business Administration at 26.4%, Electronic Engineering at 5.9%, and Mechanical Engineering at 4.5%.

Among outside directors, those from general companies accounted for the largest share at 33%, followed by professors at 20.5%, and legal professionals at 15.6%. Auditors came from general companies at 35%, accounting and tax at 21.1%, and financial institutions at 15.2%.

Jang Kyung-ho, chairman of the KOSDAQ Association, said, “The proportion of CEOs aged 60 and over has recently increased significantly, so efficient corporate succession plans are necessary for the sustainability of companies,” adding, “Improvement of systems related to family business succession is urgent.” He also stated, “KOSDAQ companies employing 320,000 people need improvements in their business environment, such as deregulation, to create quality jobs after COVID-19,” and emphasized, “Especially for small and medium KOSDAQ companies, exemption from internal accounting management system audits should be provided.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.