On the 3rd, Leaders Index, a corporate analysis research institute, analyzed the status of CEOs at 283 affiliates of South Korea’s top 30 conglomerates for the 2024–2026 period. The results showed that among the 362 CEOs this year, 94 (26.0%) had backgrounds in business planning. This represents a sharp decline of 22.1 percentage points (p) from 173 (48.1%) in 2024—a drop that occurred within just two years.
In contrast, the number of CEOs with backgrounds in production and manufacturing rose from 54 (15.0%) to 92 (25.4%) over the same period. The number of CEOs with backgrounds in marketing and sales also rose from 23 (6.4%) to 37 (10.2%), surpassing the 10% mark for the first time. Those with finance backgrounds increased from 59 (16.4%) to 73 (20.2%). CEOs with research and development (R&D) backgrounds rose from 7 (1.9%) to 9 (2.5%).
By group, the rise of executives with production and R&D backgrounds was particularly notable among major groups engaged in manufacturing, while there was a clear trend toward the concentrated placement of marketing and sales experts in the retail and telecommunications sectors.
At Samsung Group, 11 of the 26 CEOs across 22 affiliates—42.3%—had backgrounds in production and manufacturing. This represents an increase of 5 from the 6 recorded in 2024. During the same period, the number of CEOs with backgrounds in corporate planning fell from 7 to 3, and those with finance backgrounds dropped from 4 to 1. At SK Group as well, among the 36 CEOs of 32 affiliates, the number of those with backgrounds in production and manufacturing rose from 4 in 2024 to 11 this year. In contrast, the number of CEOs with backgrounds in corporate planning and finance fell from 29 in 2024 to 17. At LG Corp., 6 of the 14 CEOs across 13 affiliates had backgrounds in production and manufacturing. The number of CEOs with a background in corporate planning fell from 5 in 2024 to 2 this year. At HyundaiMotor Group, the number of CEOs with a background in corporate planning among the 27 CEOs of 20 affiliates dropped to 6 this year. While the number of CEOs with a background in finance also decreased to 5 this year, the proportion of those with backgrounds in production and manufacturing (7) and R&D (2) expanded.
In fact, CEOs with extensive hands-on experience—such as Jeon Young-hyun, Vice Chairman and Head of the Device Solutions (DS) Division at SamsungElectronics; Kwak No-jeong, President and CEO of SK hynix; and Ryu Jae-cheol, President and CEO of LGELECTRONICS—are taking leading roles. Vice Chairman Jeon, a semiconductor and battery expert who previously served as head of SamsungElectronics’ Memory Business Division and CEO of SAMSUNG SDI CO.,LTD., returned as head of the semiconductor business in 2024 and is leading the effort to restore technological competitiveness. President Kwak, also an expert in semiconductor manufacturing and technology, was appointed CEO in 2022. President Ryu is regarded as a quintessential hands-on CEO, having spent over 30 years in the home appliance business and accumulated experience in research and development as well as business operations.
In the retail industry, a trend of promoting sales experts was observed at rival groups HYUNDAIDEPARTMENTSTORECO.,LTD and Shinsegae Co.,Ltd. At HYUNDAIDEPARTMENTSTORECO.,LTD, 7 out of 18 CEOs came from marketing and sales backgrounds, while at Shinsegae Co.,Ltd, 5 out of 12 CEOs had such backgrounds, representing the highest proportion.
The average age of CEOs this year is 58.5, a slight increase from 58.4 in 2024. Female CEOs accounted for only 10 out of 362 (2.8%), failing to exceed 3% for the third consecutive year. As of October 2026, the average tenure of incumbent CEOs was 3.8 years. There were 44 CEOs from the owner’s family, accounting for 12.2% of the total.
Park Ju-geun, CEO of Leaders Index, explained, “As technological competition—including in the field of artificial intelligence (AI)—intensifies, there is a trend toward the widespread appointment of hands-on talent with manufacturing experience and technical expertise.” He added, “Three to four years ago, when group ownership changed hands, strategic planners took the lead, but the system is now shifting toward hands-on, field-oriented leadership.”
