One in Five Outside Directors of Top 30 Groups Holds Concurrent Positions at Two or More Companies

Most Are Current Professors or Former Bureaucrats
S-Oil: 4 out of 6 Outside Directors Hold Concurrent Positions

Among the outside directors of the top 30 conglomerates, one in five holds concurrent positions at two or more large companies.

Outside Director. /Photo by Getty Images

On the 9th, the corporate analysis institute 'Leaders Index' analyzed the backgrounds of 827 outside directors from 237 affiliates of the top 30 groups ranked by asset size. Among them, 177 (21.4%) held outside director positions at two or more companies concurrently.

Of all the concurrent outside directors, 104 (58.8%) were outside directors of the top five groups: Samsung, SK, Hyundai Motor, LG, and Lotte.

Looking at concurrent outside directors by career background, current professors were the largest group with 72 (40.7%), followed by former government officials with 56 (31.6%).

The former government officials serving as outside directors mainly came from the National Tax Service and the Prosecutor's Office with 10 each, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy with 9, the Ministry of Economy and Finance with 7, and the Judiciary and the Fair Trade Commission with 5 each. Notably, 32 of the former government officials holding concurrent outside director positions, accounting for 57.1%, worked as advisors or lawyers at law firms such as Kim & Chang, Bae, Kim & Lee, Yulchon, Tae-pyungyang, and HwaWoo.

The group with the highest proportion of concurrent outside directors was S-Oil, where 4 out of 6 outside directors (66.7%) held concurrent positions. Other groups with concurrent outside directors included Naver with 2 out of 4 (50%), LG with 15 out of 38 (39.5%), Samsung with 22 out of 57 (38.6%), Lotte with 22 out of 58 (37.9%), LS with 9 out of 24 (37.5%), and Shinsegae with 8 out of 22 (36.4%).

According to the revised Enforcement Decree of the Commercial Act, aimed at ensuring the independence and expertise of outside directors, outside directors may hold concurrent positions at no more than two companies, regardless of whether they are listed or unlisted. Reappointment is limited to a maximum of six years at a single company.

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