Average Korean CEO Took 25 Years to Get to the Top

The average Korean CEO is 58.8 years old, graduated from a prestigious university and took 25 years to get to the top, a survey by New Management monthly finds.

The magazine looked at the careers of 138 CEOs of Korea's top 100 businesses based on revenues. They had worked on average for 25.7 years at their companies and it took them 20.4 years to get to the executive level.

Fifty-seven CEOs graduated from Seoul National University, followed by 21 from Korea University, 19 from Yonsei University, nine from Hanyang University and five from Sungkyunkwan University. Thirty-two of the CEOs majored in business administration, the highest number, while 16 had degrees in economics.

In the science field, 12 of the CEOs majored in chemistry, followed by metal engineering and marine engineering, with five. Most or 42 came from Seoul. Eighteen of the CEOs came from the Gyeongsang provinces, while 10 came from both Daegu and Busan.