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Kim Kyung-Ah’s appointment as Samsung Bioepis comes amid a broader management reshuffle at Samsung and highlights gradual progress in gender diversity within the South Korean company.
Kim Kyung-Ah. (Photo Credit: Samsung Bioepis’s portal)
Samsung has reached a historic milestone by appointing a woman outside its founding family as the chief executive officer of a group company for the first time in its 86-year history. The group has named Kim Kyung-Ah as the president and CEO of Samsung Bioepis Co, according to Bloomberg.
Kim’s appointment comes amid a broader management reshuffle at Samsung and highlights gradual progress in gender diversity within the South Korean giant.
Despite strides in education, women continue to face significant barriers in South Korean corporate culture. As of 2023, women account for just 10 per cent of board members at 269 large listed companies, according to Seoul-based consultancy CEOScore. This marks an improvement from 3 per cent in 2019 and 6.9 per cent in 2021, following a 2020 legal revision mandating gender diversity on corporate boards.
Still, South Korea remains the developed country with the highest wage gap, as reported by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Kim’s promotion serves as a beacon of hope for greater inclusion in the future.
Who is Kim Kyung-Ah?
Kim Kyung-Ah, 56, holds a doctorate in neurotoxicology from Johns Hopkins University, specialising in the effects of chemical and biological agents on the nervous system. With over two decades of experience in biologic development, Kim joined Samsung Bioepis in 2015 and has since played a pivotal role in its product innovations.
Before her time at Bioepis, she worked at the Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology, the company’s research and development arm, as a principal scientist and later as vice president. Her focus included developing antibody therapeutics for oncology.
Kim is only the second woman to head a Samsung affiliate, following Lee Boo-jin, the granddaughter of Samsung’s late founder Lee Byung-chull and CEO of Hotel Shilla Co.
