MOLIT-Affiliated Agencies Have Zero Female Heads... Glass Ceiling Remains Unbroken

13 of 28 agencies have no female executives
Even where women make up half the workforce, all executives are men
Jo Incheol: "Women's perspectives excluded from policymaking"

There are no women serving as heads of agencies affiliated with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, a review found. Even at agencies where women make up nearly half of all employees, every member of the executive team responsible for decision-making is male.

According to data submitted by 28 agencies affiliated with the ministry to Rep. Jo In-cheol of the Democratic Party of Korea, a member of the National Assembly’s Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee, all 25 agency heads in office as of September were men. The top positions at three agencies were vacant. Their three predecessors were also all men.

Thirteen of the 28 affiliated agencies had no women executives. They are Korea Railroad Corporation (KORAIL), Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH), Korea Housing & Urban Guarantee Corporation (HUG), Incheon International Airport Corporation, Korea Expressway Corporation, Saemangeum Development Corporation, Korea Real Estate Board, Construction Technology Education Institute, Korea Agency for Infrastructure Technology Advancement, Housing Management Corporation, KORAIL Networks, KORAIL Retail and KORAIL Tech.

Even at agencies where half of the employees are women, all executives are men. Women account for 50% of KORAIL Tech’s employees, but all seven of its executives are men. At KORAIL Networks, women make up 49.7% of employees, but all seven executives are men. Even at Korea Expressway Corporation Service, where 78.3% of employees are women, there is only one woman executive (16.7%).

The same is true at agencies that oversee housing policies closely tied to people’s daily lives. Women make up 40.0% of LH employees, but all 11 executives are men. At HUG, women account for 39.6% of employees, yet all 10 executives are men. At Korea Real Estate Board, women make up 38.0% of employees, but all 10 executives are men.

The higher the position, the lower the proportion of women. Women account for 28.7% of employees across all affiliated agencies, but their share falls to 13.4% among employees at Grade 3 or senior level and above. Of the 233 executives, including directors and auditors, only 21 are women, or 9.0%.

Four agencies have a proportion of women among employees at Grade 3 or above of less than 10%: Gadeokdo New Airport Construction Corporation (6.0%), Construction Technology Education Institute (4.3%), Korea Authority of Land & Infrastructure Safety (4.8%) and Korea Automobile Damage Compensation Promotion Agency (5.0%).

Rep. Jo said, “Agencies affiliated with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport provide public services closely tied to people’s daily lives, such as housing and transportation, making it essential to ensure diversity in decision-making. Having no women agency heads and women executives at nearly half of the agencies shows that women’s perspectives are being excluded from policymaking and management.”

He added, “To expand women’s participation in policymaking in the public sector, agencies need to review personnel processes, including promotions and executive appointments, and set specific improvement targets.”

Female Employee Ratios at Agencies Affiliated with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport as of September 2026. Source: Ministry-affiliated agencies and Rep. Jo In-cheol's office.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.