Samsung Electro-Mechanics Expands Female Outside Directors to 50%

First Among Samsung Affiliates

Samsung Electro-Mechanics Outside Director Yoon Jeong Lee

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Sun-mi] Samsung Electro-Mechanics has become the first Samsung affiliate to expand the proportion of female outside directors to 50%.

At the shareholders' meeting held on the 16th, Samsung Electro-Mechanics newly appointed lawyer Lee Yoon-jung from Kim & Chang Law Office as an outside director. Samsung Electro-Mechanics, which has been appointing female outside directors since 2014 to increase gender diversity within the board, expanded the number of female outside directors to two with this appointment. The existing female member of the Samsung Electro-Mechanics board is Professor Yeo Yoon-kyung from Ewha Womans University’s Business School.

With this addition, the male-to-female ratio on Samsung Electro-Mechanics’ board has been adjusted from 3 to 1 to 2 to 2. Samsung Electro-Mechanics is the only Samsung affiliate where the proportion of female outside directors has expanded to 50%.

Separately, Samsung Electro-Mechanics appointed the newly appointed outside director as the chairperson of the ESG Committee. This outside director is recognized for her competitiveness in the ESG field, having served as an advisory lawyer to the Ministry of Environment, a member of the Ministry of Environment’s Sustainable Development Committee, and vice president of the Korean Environmental Law Association, among other advisory roles in various institutions.

Samsung Electro-Mechanics’ ESG Committee was established last year to oversee and manage policies and key matters related to environment, society, and governance at the board level, aiming to enhance corporate value and strengthen ESG management. A Samsung Electro-Mechanics official said, "This outside director is an environmental law specialist with high expertise in environmental regulations and legal advisory fields," adding, "We expect her to provide practical advice and contributions to Samsung Electro-Mechanics’ ESG-centered management and strategy."

Meanwhile, it is notable that many companies newly appointed female outside directors at this shareholders' meeting. This is because the amendment to the Capital Market Act, which mandates that the boards of listed companies with assets exceeding 2 trillion won must not be composed of only one gender, will come into effect starting August. According to Leaders Index, a corporate analysis research institute, about 43% of newly appointed outside directors at this month’s shareholders' meetings are women. The backgrounds of newly appointed outside directors are mostly professors at 43.3%, followed by bureaucrats at 22.1%, and business sector at 18.3%.

However, there are still limitations due to the low proportion of female outside directors and the lack of a sufficient talent pool, so the process of newly appointing female outside directors is expected to remain challenging for companies. Most appointments are external recruitments, but there is a concentration on professors and legal professionals, and many hold concurrent positions at other companies, making selection difficult.

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