The proportion of women among CEOs and business executives in Korea is far below the level of other leading countries around the world, a survey shows.

Data released by the Korean Women's Development Institute on Monday shows that in large companies with more than 1,000 staff, the percentage of executive-level female workers stood at 4.7 percent last year.

On the other end of the scale, in a separate U.S. study Norway recorded the most female executives at nearly 40 percent, followed by Sweden with 27 percent and Finland with 25 percent.

Meanwhile, more than 30 percent of Korean women say they have felt discriminated against when seeking promotion.