Eight Out of Ten Promotions to Director and Manager Are Women... Bold Personnel Appointments in Dobong District

Large-Scale Promotion of Female Executives
Dobong District Breaks the "Glass Ceiling"

Dobong District in Seoul is leading a transformation by breaking the organizational "glass ceiling" through the large-scale promotion of female executives in its personnel appointments for the second half of 2025.

On June 13, the district announced that it had convened a personnel committee and decided that both candidates for promotion to Grade 4 Director (department head level) would be women, and that six out of eight candidates for promotion to Grade 5 Manager (section chief level) would also be women. As a result, eight out of ten promotions to Grade 4 and 5 positions are women, earning praise for spearheading innovation in organizational culture through fair, performance- and competency-based personnel decisions.

View of Dobong District Office. Provided by Dobong District Office.

With these appointments, the proportion of female Grade 4 Directors in Dobong District has risen sharply from 12.5% to 37.5%, while the proportion of female Grade 5 Managers has increased from 43.75% to 51.56%. This marks a breakthrough for women in senior positions in Dobong District, overcoming the barriers that have been prevalent in public institutions.

According to the "2024 Local Government Civil Servant Personnel Statistics" released by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety in May, the nationwide proportion of female civil servants at Grade 5 or higher is about 34%. With these appointments, Dobong District's proportion of female civil servants at Grade 5 or higher now stands at 48.64%, far exceeding the national average.

Dobong District explained, "These promotions were made based on the principles of merit and performance, and reflect the recognition of the capabilities that female civil servants have built up over time." Currently, female civil servants at Grade 5 or higher are demonstrating outstanding competence in key positions such as public safety, planning and budgeting, policy advisory, and autonomous administration, as well as in departments at community service centers that directly serve residents.

Oh Unseok, Mayor of Dobong District, stated, "We will continue to create an organizational culture where all employees are evaluated fairly and can fully realize their potential, so that we can provide administrative services that earn even greater trust from our residents."