[Edaily Reporter Choi Oh-hyun ] Although the number of executives at South Korea’s top 100 companies increased by more than 100 over the past year, the proportion of executives among the total workforce remains below 1 percent. Notably, amid the semiconductor boom, SK hynix added 72 executives, while SamsungElectronics maintained last year’s level.

The Korea CXO Research Institute, which specializes in corporate analysis, released the results of its “Analysis of the Likelihood of Employee Promotion to Executive Positions at the Top 100 Companies in 2026” on the 19th. The survey covered the top 100 listed companies ranked by revenue based on separate financial statements from last year. The study compared the number of employees and the number of non-registered executives disclosed in this year’s interim reports. The term “executive” was limited to non-registered executives, excluding registered executives, while the total number of employees included both registered and non-registered executives.

The survey found that the number of unregistered executives at the top 100 companies increased by 109 (1.6%), from 7,028 last year to 7,137 this year. During the same period, the number of employees rose by only 1,087 (0.1%), from 861,076 to 862,163. While the number of employees increased slightly, the number of executives rose by a relatively large margin. The proportion of executives among employees rose slightly from 0.82% to 0.83%. The number of employees per executive decreased from 122.5 to 120.8.

By company, SK hynix saw the largest increase in the number of executives. The number rose by 72 (35.5%), from 203 last year to 275 this year. This accounts for 66.1% of the total net increase of 109 executives across the top 100 companies. HD HYUNDAI HEAVY INDUSTRIES, KoreanAirLines, and MIRAE ASSET SECURITIES followed, with increases of 23, 12, and 11 executives, respectively.

In contrast, SamsungElectronics’ executive count rose by only one from last year to 1,108. Although it had the highest number of executives among the surveyed companies, its headcount remained virtually unchanged. The number of employees decreased from 129,524 to approximately 129,200. The ratio of employees per executive was recorded at 116.6.

LGELECTRONICS saw its number of executives decrease by 19, from 306 last year to 287 this year. HyundaiMotor also saw a decrease of 25, from 476 to 451. The gap in the number of executives between LGELECTRONICS and SK hynix, which was 103 last year, narrowed to 12 this year. KTCorporation saw a decrease of 17, from 93 last year to 76 this year. SAMSUNG SDI CO.,LTD. and SK also saw decreases of 16 and 15, respectively.

Among the top 100 companies, 52 saw an increase in the number of executives. Thirty-eight saw a decrease, and 10 remained unchanged. By industry, the securities sector had the lowest number of employees per executive at 39.8. In contrast, the retail sector had the highest at 320.3. The electrical and electronics sector averaged 133.5 employees per executive.

Oh Il-seon, Director of the Korea CXO Research Institute, analyzed, “While SK hynix expanded its executive ranks in line with improved performance and business expansion, SamsungElectronics placed greater emphasis on maintaining its existing executive headcount.” He added, “It appears that the differences in the business structures and growth strategies of the two companies have also influenced how they secure and manage key talent.”