[Power K-Women] "Women Rarely Seen in High Positions... We Stepped Up as Stepping Stones for Our Daughters"

Former Vice Minister Lee Boksil of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family
Only 8% of Corporate Outside Directors Are Women... Severely Lacking Women in Senior Positions
"Without Economic Power, Women Are Subordinate and Must Obey in Decision-Making"
Starting from the Question "Why Are There No Female Outside Directors?" Leading to Capital Market Act Amendment

Editor's NoteAsia Economy selected women active in various fields both domestically and internationally as 'Power K-Women' and announced them at the ‘2023 Women Leaders Forum’ held on the 24th of last month at Lotte Hotel in Sogong-dong, Seoul. These women leaders have broken or transcended barriers such as gender, race, disability, and poverty to create new and universal values. Their stories will provide comfort to a weary world and serve as role models for others, giving strength to the community to move forward. We introduce those who have fought against discrimination without shrinking back or being trapped by boundaries as candidates for Power K-Women.

"Career breaks happen more often around us than we think. The higher the position, the harder it is to find women."

As the first female vice minister since the establishment of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, former Vice Minister Lee Boksil said that the driving force behind overcoming the glass ceiling was simply 'endurance.' Over 40 years ago, it was hard to imagine women rising to senior positions in the civil service. It was a time when even entry was difficult. Especially after becoming a mother, working life became even tougher, but it made her appreciate what she had achieved even more. Now, as she pioneers her third life, she willingly steps forward as a stepping stone to create an environment where juniors can work more comfortably.

From '4th Female Passer of the Administrative Examination' to Vice Minister

Lotte Card ESG Committee Chair Lee Boksil, former Vice Minister of Gender Equality and Family. Photo by Huh Younghan younghan@

Former Vice Minister Lee decided from her school days that she needed to have a career. This firm resolve came from having closely observed her mother’s life. "If women lack economic power, they ultimately become dependent and have no choice but to obey in decision-making processes." However, in the 1980s, private companies did not recruit female employees through open recruitment. Seeing no other options, she chose to prepare for the administrative examination. After about two years of preparation, she earned the title of the 4th female passer of the administrative examination in history.

However, life as a civil servant was not easy at that time. She became a section chief under the Ministry of Education (now Ministry of Education), but personally experienced how difficult it was to achieve the desired growth in a male-dominated civil service group. After returning from studying abroad, she even heard a humiliating remark from her superior: "Three female section chiefs in headquarters are enough."

After enduring for about nine years, she chose a detour to the Office of the Minister for Political Affairs, which later became the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family. "Looking back now, I don’t know if it was right or wrong. But I thought I should go to a place that recognizes me and can give me a position that fits my abilities." She served as General Manager of the Women’s Special Committee, Director of Planning and Management at the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, and rose to Director of the Childcare Policy Bureau. Later, she entered the Blue House as an administrative officer and was appointed Vice Minister of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family during the Park Geun-hye administration, serving from 2013 to 2014.

As a mother, she faced crises where she had to give up work several times. Before marriage, her most important value was 'ability,' but after marriage, her life changed 180 degrees. She had too many responsibilities as a mother and wife.

She resolved to work hard because she had left her children behind and wanted to be a proud mother. Having climbed the ladder with particular difficulty, she tried not to give up either her civil servant life or her life as a mother. "Thinking about how hard it was to get this far, I couldn’t quit. I thought I had to endure somehow."

Women Leaders Who Stepped Up for Their Daughters

The Korea branch of the World Women Directors Association (WCD Korea) won the Grand Prize in the Corporate Governance category at the International Corporate Governance Network (ICGN) Annual Meeting held in Toronto, Canada on June 20. After receiving the award, Bok-sil Lee, Chairperson of WCD Korea, took a commemorative photo with Kerry Waring, CEO of ICGN.
[Photo by World Women Directors Association]

After finishing 30 years of public service, former Vice Minister Lee began her second act as president of the World Women Directors Association. Seven years ago, she joined forces with female CEOs as a founding member of the World Women Directors Association. "The World Women Directors Association, a global NGO, has branches in 80 countries worldwide, but at that time, there was no branch in Korea. When we tried to join, there were no women on boards of directors in our country." After some investigation, 36 female directors gathered. They pledged to become a platform to activate women’s participation in management.

"Let’s step up for our daughters." This was the motivation for those who were all active in their fields to volunteer without pay. While serving as head of the strategy division, former Vice Minister Lee pushed for legal amendments with association members. This was the so-called 'Mandatory Female Director Act (Amendment to the Capital Market Act),' which introduced mandatory female directors on the boards of listed companies. It was an action born from the question, 'Why are there no female directors in Korea?' Her experience as a former government official familiar with the legislative process was a great help. "During discussions, it was said that declarations and obligations have no binding force. I thought, 'Let’s put it into a binding law,' and started pushing for the amendment of the Capital Market Act."

The first thing she thought of was a 'strong helper.' After persuading each lawmaker’s office, former Democratic Party lawmaker Choi Un-yeol decided to push for legislation after seeing the statistics she presented. They also used methods such as visiting senior expert committee members. Thanks to the efforts of former lawmaker Choi, former Vice Minister Lee, and association members, the law finally passed the National Assembly plenary session in January 2020. "Strategy is important to get a law passed. I think the help of various stakeholders, not just former lawmaker Choi, played a big role."

The Korean branch of the World Women Directors Association was recognized for these efforts and received the Governance Award at the International Corporate Governance Network (ICGN) annual meeting last June. ICGN was established in 1995 by global institutional investors from the US and Europe to improve corporate governance. It awards individuals and institutions that contribute to corporate governance improvement every year. It is considered the most prestigious award related to corporate governance. "The organizers told us they couldn’t believe that an NGO, not the government, did this. It’s the result of our combined efforts."

Severely Shortage of 'Female Outside Directors'

(Photo from left) Kim Kyung-ho, Executive Director of Lotte.com; Lee Young-gu, Executive Director of Lotte Chilsung; Lee In-won, Vice Chairman of Lotte Group Policy Headquarters (Co-Chairman); Lee Dong-hoon, Former Secretary General of the Fair Trade Commission; Lee Bok-sil, Former Vice Minister of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family; Shin Dong-bin, Chairman of Lotte Group; Lee Kyung-mook, Professor of Business Administration at Seoul National University (Co-Chairman); Ye Jong-seok, Chairman of Beautiful Foundation; Kim Jong-in, CEO of Lotte Mart; Oh Sung-yeop, Executive Director of Lotte Chemical.

Starting as a founding member of the Korean branch of the World Women Directors Association and serving as a director, former Vice Minister Lee has been president for the past five years and is now living another life as an outside director of Lotte Card since last year. She serves as chairperson of the ESG Committee within the Lotte Card board and as vice president of the National Management Research Institute. She credits 'solidarity' as the background that allowed her to actively work for women’s advancement even after retirement. "Whether during my public service or after leaving it, the women’s network was activated for me. It’s the driving force that allowed me to keep working after retirement."

When asked whether she thinks women in Korea no longer face discrimination, she answered, "Much progress has been made, but it’s still difficult." Although the proportion of female outside directors has steadily increased since the amendment to the Capital Market Act, the female outside director ratio in Korea’s top 100 companies is only about 8%. "Male leaders around me often say, 'Now half of the new employees are women.' But (as years go by) career breaks happen, so there aren’t many women who reach senior positions." She emphasized that more practical efforts are needed both in policy and the private sector to prevent career breaks.

◆About Former Vice Minister Lee Boksil...

Former Vice Minister Lee graduated from the Department of Urban Administration at the University of Seoul and passed the 28th Administrative Examination in 1985, entering public service as a section chief at the Ministry of Education. She later served as Director of the Childcare Policy Bureau at the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family in 2005, spokesperson for the Ministry in 2010, and vice minister from March 2013 to July 2014. After retiring from public service, she served as president of the Korean branch of the World Women Directors Association from 2019 to 2023 and currently serves as an outside director of Lotte Card and vice president of the National Management Research Institute.