Market research firm Korea CXO Institute announced on Sept. 28 that the top 100 non-financial listed companies in Korea with the largest annual sales had a total of 6,928 executive members as of the end of the first half of this year. Out of those, 101 employed by 18 percent of the companies, were foreigners, and 57 out of the 101 foreign executives worked for Samsung Electronics. “Such a high ratio implies how much effort the electronics manufacturer is making to scout executive members from abroad as a global player,” the institute explained in its report.
According to the half-yearly reports that the institute referred to, the Samsung Group had 81 foreign executives, including 13 in Samsung C&T, 6 in Samsung Engineering, 3 in Samsung SDI, and 2 in Samsung Electro-Mechanics. Samsung Electronics had three foreign executives as vice presidents as well.
The numbers were 4 in Hanon Systems, 3 in LG Electronics, 2 in Hyundai Motor Company, 2 in Korean Air, and 2 in CJ Cheil Jedang. On the contrary, the steel, shipbuilding and heavy industries sectors, including POSCO, had no foreign executives at all. These sectors have been characterized by their emphasis upon business management by domestic directors.