CEO Score survey: 94% of Korean conglomerate owners’ 4th-5th generation studied abroad
In short
A CEO Score survey of 350 owner-family members at 89 South Korean conglomerates with a chairman found that 46 of 49 fourth- and fifth-generation members (93.9%) had studied abroad, against 5.9% in the founder generation. Columbia University was the most common overseas alma mater with 22 family members, followed by NYU (18) and Cornell (16), while Korea University (54) and Seoul National University (50) led among domestic schools.
Read the full story 2 min read
Nearly 94% of the fourth- and fifth-generation members of South Korea’s large business-group owning families have studied abroad, according to a survey by the Corporate Data Research Institute CEO Score released on October 7. CEO Score analyzed 350 owner-family members whose education could be verified at 89 conglomerates that have a chairman. It found that 46 of 49 fourth- and fifth-generation members (93.9%) had overseas study experience. [ 1 , 3 ]
The survey showed the share rising steadily by generation. Two of 34 founder-generation members (5.9%) studied abroad, compared with 76 of 112 second-generation members (67.9%) and 122 of 155 third-generation members (78.7%), Yonhap and Kyunghyang Shinmun reported. [ 1 , 3 ]
The pattern of study also changed. First- through third-generation members typically earned a bachelor’s degree in Korea before taking an MBA or other graduate degree overseas, the reports said. Among fourth- and fifth-generation members with overseas experience, 33 of 46 (71.7%) began their undergraduate studies abroad, and many went overseas as minors, Yonhap reported. Kyunghyang Shinmun described overseas study as no longer an option but a required course for chaebol families. [ 1 , 3 ]
Columbia University was the most common overseas alma mater with 22 owner-family members, followed by New York University with 18, Cornell with 16 and Stanford with 15, according to Kyunghyang Shinmun. Yonhap named Columbia graduates including Lotte Group chairman Shin Dong-bin and Lotte Holdings vice president Shin Yoo-yeol. Outside the United States, China’s Tsinghua University and Japan’s Keio University each had four members. Among domestic universities, Korea University led with 54 members, ahead of Seoul National University with 50 and Yonsei University with 35, Kyunghyang Shinmun reported. [ 1 , 3 ]
Kyunghyang Shinmun also noted that some families concentrate at the same schools. Five members of the Doosan family, including former chairman Park Yong-sung and Doosan Enerbility chairman Park Gee-won, hold New York University MBAs; four fourth-generation members of the GS family hold Stanford MBAs; and Amorepacific chairman Suh Kyung-bae and his two daughters all attended Cornell. [ 3 ]
Kyunghyang Shinmun cited a separate CEO Score survey published in January showing that 9.4% of third- and fourth-generation owner-family members held foreign nationality, more than five times the 1.7% rate of the first and second generations, with 39 of 41 foreign nationals holding US citizenship. A CEO Score official said at the time that designating foreign-national managers and disclosing information on related family companies would emerge as new policy tasks, the newspaper reported. [ 3 ]
Why it matters
The findings point to a shift in how conglomerate successors are prepared, with overseas study starting earlier and family members clustering at the same foreign schools. Kyunghyang Shinmun, citing a separate CEO Score survey, links wider foreign study to rising foreign nationality among younger owner-family members and to questions about how regulators designate and disclose such owners.
Key facts
- CEO Score analyzed 350 owner-family members whose education could be verified at 89 conglomerates with a chairman. [ 1 , 3 ]
- Among fourth- and fifth-generation members, 46 of 49 (93.9%) had studied abroad, versus 2 of 34 (5.9%) in the founder generation. [ 1 , 3 ]
- Study-abroad rates were 67.9% for the second generation (76 of 112) and 78.7% for the third (122 of 155). [ 1 , 3 ]
- Of the fourth- and fifth-generation members with overseas study experience, 33 of 46 (71.7%) began their undergraduate studies abroad. [ 1 , 3 ]
- Columbia University was the most common overseas school with 22 owner-family members; NYU had 18, Cornell 16 and Stanford 15. [ 1 , 3 ]
- Korea University was the most common domestic school with 54 members, ahead of Seoul National University (50) and Yonsei University (35). [ 3 ]
- Outside the United States, China’s Tsinghua University and Japan’s Keio University each had four owner-family members. [ 1 , 3 ]
- A separate CEO Score survey published in January found 9.4% of third- and fourth-generation owner-family members held foreign nationality, compared with 1.7% for the first and second generations. [ 3 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- The share of owner-family members with overseas study experience rises sharply by generation, reaching about 94% among the fourth and fifth generations. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]
- Columbia University was the most frequently attended overseas university among owner-family members, with 22 people. [ 1 , 3 ]
- The proportion of fourth- and fifth-generation members who started their undergraduate studies abroad was 71.7%, higher than for earlier generations. [ 1 , 3 ]
Still unclear
- Whether the 350 owner-family members with verifiable education are representative of all owner families at the 89 groups. The documents describe the sample criteria but do not address how the education of those excluded from the sample might differ.
- The comparison between foreign nationality rates and study-abroad rates. Kyunghyang Shinmun cites a separate January CEO Score survey for the nationality figures, not the same October analysis.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- Yonhap publishes the CEO Score findings, naming universities and individual owner-family members. [ 1 ]
- Chosun Ilbo reports the survey, focusing on the change in when owner-family members go abroad. [ 2 ]
- Kyunghyang Shinmun reports the findings, including family-level school clusters and foreign-nationality data from a separate survey. [ 3 ]
- Chosun Ilbo publishes a further report on the same findings. [ 4 ]