"Central Government Female Top Executive Ratio Among Lowest in OECD"

Statistics Korea Announces SDG Implementation Status

Despite the increase in female public officials, the proportion of women in top management positions in the central government was found to be among the lowest among OECD member countries.

On the 21st, Statistics Korea announced the publication of the "Korea Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Implementation Report 2024," which includes this information. The SDGs are 17 policy goals unanimously agreed upon by UN member states to be achieved by 2030.

According to the report, the proportion of women in top management positions in the Korean central government was 14.6% as of 2021, ranking second lowest among OECD member countries, following Japan (12.9%). The average among OECD member countries was 34.2%.

The gender wage gap was 31.2%, the highest among OECD member countries, about three times the OECD average of 12.1%.

The share of renewable energy, used as an indicator for climate change response, was 3.6% (as of 2020), the lowest among OECD member countries. Korea's greenhouse gas emissions per GDP were the sixth highest after Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United States, and Poland.

Fatalities from natural disasters were 64 in 2022, and heatwave-related deaths, added to statistics since 2018, occurred at an average of 36 people annually.

Biodiversity has been continuously declining from 0.76 in 2000 to 0.69 last year, placing Korea among the countries with the lowest levels alongside New Zealand and Mexico. The proportions of terrestrial and marine protected areas were 17.45% and 1.81%, respectively, as of last year. The marine protected area ratio was far below the OECD average of 19.2%.

Statistics Korea noted, "Looking at trends over the past 10 years, Korea shows improvements in several indicators; however, disparities based on gender, age, and region are observed, indicating the need for detailed policies to support vulnerable groups."

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