Two Koreans among Forbes' '100 Most Powerful Women'

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Two Koreans among Forbes' '100 Most Powerful Women'

Published: 07 Dec. 2023, 17:27 Updated: 08 Dec. 2023, 10:43

KIM JU-YEON
kim.juyeon2@joongang.co.kr

Hotel Shilla Chief Executive Lee Boo-jin, pictured left, and Naver CEO Choi Soo-yeon were listed on U.S. business magazine Forbes' ranking of the″World's 100 Most Powerful Women″ in 2023. [HOTEL SHILLA, NAVER]

Lee Boo-jin, eldest daughter of late Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee, and Naver CEO Choi Soo-yeon were named by Forbes as two of the "100 Most Powerful Women" in 2023.

Lee ranked 82nd and Choi placed 96th on the U.S. business magazine’s list, which was published on Tuesday.

This is the first time Choi has been on the annual rankings, while Lee, who serves as chief executive of Hotel Shilla, was first listed in 2015.

Four indicators — money, media, impact and spheres of influence — were used to determine the “most inspirational” women who make a “life-changing impact on the world,” according to Forbes.

Lee was described as the president and chief executive of Hotel Shilla, operator of lodging and conference centers and duty-free shops, and as heiress of the Samsung Group’s fortune.

The businesswoman had also placed 10th on Forbes’ list of “Korea’s 50 Richest” this year, behind her older brother and Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong and mother Hong Ra-hee who placed second and sixth, respectively.

Choi, who has been CEO of Korea’s biggest internet company Naver since 2022, was lauded for being its youngest non-founder and was quoted to have exceptional “problem-solving abilities” and a “'deep' understanding of global markets.”

The top three rankings were unchanged from last year. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen placed first, followed by European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde and then U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris.

They were once again selected for their “pivotal [roles] in shaping economic policies and legislative frameworks” in spaces historically dominated by men. But as Forbes pointed out, these leaders highlighted the exception, not the rule, as fewer women held top political roles this year. Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is currently the only woman leading a nation within the top 25 global economies, while 13 of the 193 United Nations member states are led by women.

American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift ranked 5th this year, a cosmic rise from placing 79th last year. This is the first time an entertainer has entered the top five on the list. Forbes described the singer’s “new archetype of influence,” citing her innovative business strategies to have redefined industry norms. The U.S. Travel Association estimates that the singer’s Era tour added more than $5 billion to the U.S. economy.

Meanwhile, a November survey revealed that the proportion of women in executive positions at the top 100 companies in Korea reached the 6 percent mark for the first time ever this year.

President Yoon Suk Yeol made headlines on Monday for tapping three women as minister nominees as part of a major cabinet reshuffle in the current administration.

In The Economist’s March release of its glass-ceiling index measuring women’s role and influence in the workforce by nation this year, Korea was rated the lowest among the 29 OECD member nations.

Described as a nation where “women must still choose between a family or a career,” Korea particularly placed low for the gender wage gap, with women earning 31.1 percent less than men, and for the proportion of women on company boards and managerial positions, which was at 12.8 percent and 4.6 percent respectively. Women held 18.6 percent of seats in parliament as of 2022. This was the 10th consecutive year that Korea ranked last, ever since the British magazine began compiling the annual index in 2013.

BY KIM JU-YEON [kim.juyeon2@joongang.co.kr]