Only three of South Korea's top 10 securities firms have two or more female outside directors, according to regulatory filings, fueling criticism that the financial investment industry has done little more than mechanically meet gender balance requirements since the Capital Markets Act was amended in 2022.
According to the Financial Supervisory Service's (FSS) Electronic Disclosure System on Monday, the top 10 brokerages — Korea Investment & Securities, Mirae Asset Securities (006800.KS), Kiwoom Securities (039490.KS), NH Investment & Securities (005940.KS), Samsung Securities (016360.KS), KB Securities, Meritz Securities, Shinhan Investment, Daishin Securities and Hana Securities — have a combined total of 13 female outside directors. Under the amended Capital Markets Act, listed companies with total assets of 2 trillion won ($1.5 billion) or more must appoint at least one female outside director to their boards.
Of these, only Korea Investment & Securities, NH Investment & Securities and KB Securities have two or more female outside directors. The remaining seven firms each have just one. Korea Investment & Securities has outside directors Choi Su-mi and Kim Yu-ri among its six total outside directors. NH Investment & Securities (five outside directors total) has Seo Eun-suk and Kang Ju-young, while KB Securities (four outside directors total) has Nam Hye-jeong and Kim In-suk.
The figures have prompted assessments that the financial investment industry is passive in diversifying the gender composition of outside directors. The majority of brokerages maintain only the minimum mandatory appointment of one female outside director. Critics say board gender diversity remains insufficient despite the legislative amendment. Some interpret the trend as a reflection of the relatively conservative culture within financial investment firms. The situation contrasts sharply with some financial holding companies that maintain female outside director ratios near 50 percent. Shinhan Financial Group (055550.KS), for instance, has four women (44 percent) among its nine outside directors.
Female outside directors at the top 10 brokerages ranged in birth year from the 1960s to the 1980s. Those born in the 1970s accounted for the largest share at 62 percent, followed by the 1960s at 31 percent and the 1980s at 7 percent. Kim Yu-ri of Korea Investment & Securities, born in 1981, was the youngest.
Female outside directors came predominantly from academia and the legal profession. Academia accounted for the largest share at 54 percent, followed by lawyers (23 percent), accountants (15 percent) and journalism (8 percent).
