A significant percentage of CEOs in South Korea’s top 1,000 companies hail from the country’s most prestigious universities, known as the SKY schools—Seoul National University, Yonsei University, and Korea University. According to a recent analysis by the executive search firm UnicoSearch, nearly 30% of these CEOs are graduates of one of the SKY universities.
The report reveals that 29.6% (408) of the CEOs in South Korea’s largest companies are alumni of these three top-tier institutions, showing a slight decrease of 0.3 percentage points compared to the previous year. Seoul National University (SNU) produced the largest share of CEOs, with 188 graduates (13.6%), followed by Yonsei University with 113 CEOs (8.2%), and Korea University with 107 CEOs (7.7%).
Following the SKY universities, Hanyang University produced the following highest number of CEOs, with 59 graduates. Sogang University came next with 42 CEOs, followed by Sungkyunkwan University with 38, Chung-Ang University with 31, and Pusan National University with 29. Other notable universities include Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (28 CEOs), Inha University (25 CEOs), Kyung Hee University (23 CEOs), and Dongguk University (20 CEOs).
Outside the Seoul metropolitan area, Pusan National University led the charge in CEO production, followed by Yeungnam University with 19 graduates, Dong-A University with 14, and Kyungpook National University with 13. These regional schools each contributed more than 10 CEOs to South Korea’s largest companies.
When examining the age distribution of CEOs, the largest share (22.5%) of South Korea’s top 1,000 CEOs were born in the early 1960s, specifically between 1960 and 1963, totaling 310 individuals. The next largest group was born between 1964 and 1966, accounting for 17.8% (247 individuals). Other age groups include 1967 to 1969 (11.8%, 163 individuals), 1970 to 1973 (11.4%, 158 individuals), and 1957 to 1959 (11.3%, 156 individuals). The single most common birth year for CEOs was 1964, with 107 CEOs.