Large Corporation CEOs Average Age 59.6 Years... Decrease in Seoul National University Graduates

CEO Score, Analysis of Career Backgrounds of CEOs in Top 500 Companies

Average Age Up 1.1 Years from 4 Years Ago
Nearly Half Graduated from SKY Universities
Business Administration Majors Most Common at 23.3%

The average age of CEOs of the top 500 companies this year was 59.6 years, 1.1 years older than in 2020, four years ago. The proportion of CEOs who graduated from Seoul National University also decreased compared to before.

On the 3rd, CEO Score, a corporate data research institute, analyzed 405 companies among the top 500 companies by designated sales this year whose CEO histories were available. The average age of CEOs was found to be 59.6 years, which is 1.1 years higher than 58.5 years in 2020, four years ago.

The number of CEOs surveyed was 531 at the end of 2020 and 528 as of the end of May 2024.

The phenomenon of 'aging,' where the proportion of CEOs in their 60s exceeds those in their 50s, was also evident. CEOs in their 50s, who accounted for a majority at 52.5% (279 people) in 2020, decreased by 12.5 percentage points (68 people) to 40.0% (211 people) in 2024. On the other hand, CEOs in their 60s increased by 13.7 percentage points (71 people) from 35.0% (186 people) to 48.7% (257 people) during the same period. Additionally, younger CEOs in their 30s and 40s accounted for 6.6% (35 people), down 1.1 percentage points (6 people) from four years ago, while CEOs aged 70 and above remained similar at 4.7% (25 people).

CEOs who graduated from Seoul National University accounted for 21.4% (113 people), a decrease of 4.0 percentage points (22 people) from 25.4% (135 people) four years ago, but still held the highest proportion overall. Following them, CEOs from Korea University and Yonsei University each accounted for 12.1% (64 people), increasing by 0.8 percentage points (4 people) and 2.9 percentage points (15 people), respectively, compared to four years ago. The proportion of CEOs from the 'SKY universities (Seoul National University, Korea University, Yonsei University)' was 45.6% (241 people), a slight decrease of 0.3 percentage points (3 people) from 45.9% (244 people) in 2020, but still close to half.

Other universities represented include Hanyang University (23 people), Sungkyunkwan University (20 people), Pusan National University (19 people), Sogang University (19 people), Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (15 people), Inha University (11 people), and Kyungpook National University (8 people). CEOs from universities outside the Seoul area accounted for 18.8% (99 people), down 0.6 percentage points (4 people) from 19.4% (103 people) in 2020. This group includes Pusan National University, Inha University, Kyungpook National University, Yeungnam University (5 people), Chungbuk National University (5 people), and KAIST (5 people).

CEOs who graduated from foreign universities increased by 1.7 percentage points (9 people) from 8.5% (45 people) in 2020 to 10.2% (54 people) in 2024. The most common foreign universities were Ohio State University (3 people), Aoyama Gakuin University (3 people), and Harvard University (3 people). The number of CEOs with only a high school diploma remained at 3 in both 2020 and 2024.

Among the top 500 company CEOs, the most common major was Business Administration with 123 people (23.3%). This was followed by Economics with 61 people (11.6%) and Chemical Engineering with 43 people (8.1%). The number of CEOs majoring in Business Administration increased by 1.5 percentage points (7 people) from 21.8% (116 people) in 2020, while those majoring in Economics decreased by 1.0 percentage point (6 people) from 12.6% (67 people) in 2020. Chemical Engineering majors increased by 1.9 percentage points (10 people) from 6.2% (33 people) in 2020. Other majors included Mechanical Engineering with 27 people (5.1%), Law with 26 people (4.9%), Electrical and Electronic Engineering with 21 people (4.0%), and Political Science and Diplomacy with 18 people (3.4%).