Executives born in the 1970s accounted for more than 70% of all executives at South Korea's 100 largest companies for the first time. Executives born in 1980 or later also surpassed 300 for the first time, nearing 5% of the total, in a sign that the generational shift in corporate leadership is accelerating.
According to an analysis of executive age profiles at the country's 100 largest companies released on the 22nd by Unico Search, a headhunting firm, 266 executives this year serve as registered inside directors, a group that includes chief executive officers. Unico Search reviewed the age of every inside director and unregistered executive listed in this year's half-year reports of the 100 largest listed companies by 2025 revenue on a separate financial statement basis.
Those born between 1965 and 1969 made up the largest share of inside directors, with 117, or 44.0% of the total. They were followed by those born between 1960 and 1964, with 51, or 19.2%. The share of inside directors born in the early 1960s fell steadily, from 33.1% in 2024 to 24.6% last year and 19.2% this year.
As the share of those born in the early 1960s shrank, people born in 1970 or later moved to the front lines of management, making the generational shift more pronounced. The number of inside directors born in 1970 or later rose to 75, or 28.2%, this year from 61, or 22.1%, last year, lifting their share by 6.1 percentage points.
Grouping all executives, both inside directors and unregistered executives, by five-year birth cohorts, those born between 1970 and 1974 formed the largest group at 3,374, or 45.6%. That was 31 more than last year, though their share of all executives slipped 0.2 percentage point. Executives born between 1975 and 1979, by contrast, jumped to 1,986, or 26.8%, this year from 1,531, or 21.0%, last year.
Taken together, executives born in the 1970s numbered 5,360 this year, or 72.4% of the total. It is the first time their share has exceeded 70% at the 100 largest companies, up 5.6 percentage points from 66.8% last year. The share of executives born between 1965 and 1969, meanwhile, has declined since peaking at 46.2% in 2020, falling to 19.4% this year. The share of those born between 1960 and 1964 narrowed to 2.6%.
The advance of younger executives born in 1980 or later was especially striking this year. Their number climbed steeply to 357 this year from 256 last year and 105 in 2022. It is also the first time executives born in 1980 or later have reached the 300 range. Their share of all executives rose to 4.8% this year from 3.5% last year and 1.5% in 2022, a sign that they are rapidly establishing themselves as the next generation of corporate leadership.
Some expect the number of executives born in 1980 or later to swell to the 500 range next year. "Major companies are restructuring their businesses around artificial intelligence, and there is a strong chance they will aggressively promote key talent in related fields," said Kim Hye-yang, chief executive of Unico Search. "In the large-company executive reshuffles that begin in earnest at the end of this year, people born in the late 1970s, including those born between 1977 and 1979, and those born in 1980 or later will emerge at the forefront of management in large numbers."