Female Members of Major Business Groups Receive $351.5 Million in Dividends in 2024: Data

Synopsis

In 2024, female members of the owner families of South Korea's largest 20 business groups received over 500 billion won ($351.5 million) in dividends, according to recent industry data. The report highlights dividends paid to these influential women and their roles in top conglomerates.

Key Takeaways

Female members of South Korea's major biz groups received over 500 billion won in dividends.
Samsung Group's women led with 409.4 billion won in total dividends.
Prominent figures include Lee Boo-jin and her family.
Promotion times for family members in midsized companies averages under four years.
Compared to larger firms, promotion ages are slightly higher.

Seoul, April 15 (NationPress) Female members of the owner families of South Korea's 20 largest business groups received over 500 billion won ($351.5 million) in dividends last year, according to industry data released on Tuesday.

A total of 577.9 billion won was distributed to 101 female family members of the top 20 conglomerates, marking a 7.1 percent decrease from the previous year, as reported by the Seoul-based market research firm Leaders Index.

At the forefront were three women from Samsung Group, collectively receiving 409.4 billion won, as per the Yonhap news agency.

Lee Boo-jin, the CEO of Samsung Group's hotel and retail subsidiary Hotel Shilla, led the list with 148.3 billion won in dividends.

Her mother, Hong Ra-hee, director of the Leeum Museum of Art and widow of the late Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee, secured the second position with 146.7 billion won.

Following closely was Lee Seo-hyun, president of Samsung C&T's fashion division and sister of Lee Boo-jin, with 114.4 billion won.

The family members of LG Group came next, amassing a total of 38.3 billion won in dividends.

Kim Young-shik, the widow of late LG Group Chairman Koo Bon-moo, received 20.5 billion won, while her two daughters shared the remaining amount.

The SK Group family took home a total of 33.8 billion won, followed by DB Group with 15.4 billion won and Shinsegae Group with 14.8 billion won.

In another finding, family members from medium-sized firms in South Korea typically take less than four years on average to ascend to executive management roles, as revealed by a market tracker last month.

A study of the top 100 medium-sized enterprises, each holding total assets below 5 trillion won ($3.4 billion) as of 2023, indicated that 101 out of 237 executives were from the owning families, according to CEO Score.

These family members began their careers in their family-owned businesses at an average age of 30.7 and were promoted to executive positions at 34.5.

In contrast, family members in larger corporations reached executive roles slightly later, at an average age of 34.8, after starting their careers at 30.4.