Making it to the executive ranks at South Korea's 100 largest companies remains a long shot. For every 121 employees, just one holds an executive title.
Among the 862,163 employees at the country's top 100 listed companies by revenue, 7,137 were unregistered executives this year, or 0.83% of the workforce, according to an analysis released on the 20th by Korea CXO Institute. The ratio edged up from 0.82% a year earlier but still works out to one executive for every 121 employees.
SK hynix added the most executives, expanding its ranks by 72, or 35.5%, to 275 from 203 a year earlier. That accounted for 66% of the net increase of 109 executives across all 100 companies.
Samsung Electronics had the largest absolute number at 1,108, up by one from a year earlier. HD Hyundai Heavy Industries added 23 to reach 132, helped by its merger with HD Hyundai Mipo, while Korean Air added 12. Hyundai Motor, by contrast, cut 25 positions to 451 from 476, and LG Electronics reduced its count by 19 to 287 from 306.
The gap across industries was also pronounced. Securities firms had the highest proportion, with one executive for every 39.8 employees. Retail had the steepest barrier at one per 320.3 employees. Shipbuilding and heavy industry, at 170.3 employees per executive, and automobiles, at 150.5, also exceeded the average.
The institute said SK hynix expanded its executive organization in line with improving earnings and business expansion, while Samsung Electronics focused on maintaining its existing scale.