This has been a milestone year for the Samsung Group. Samsung Electronics Co. issued a rare public apology before embarking on a massive share purchase. For the first time in its 86-year history, South Korea's largest conglomerate has appointed a woman who is not a member of its founding family as CEO of a group firm.

In a country where women business leaders have long battled to gain traction on corporate boards and C-suites, Kim Kyung-Ah's selection as president and CEO of Samsung Bioepis Co. is sure to inspire the next generation of executives.

Kim, 56, a doctor of neurotoxicology from Johns Hopkins University, has over 20 years of experience in biologic research and will manage product development. Her promotion takes effect immediately and is part of Samsung's management change, which was announced Wednesday. Neurotoxicology studies the harmful effects of chemical and biological substances on the neurological system.

While Kim's ability to breach the glass ceiling is noteworthy, female executives will account for only 10% of the boards of 269 large publicly traded businesses in 2023, according to Seoul-based consultancy CEOScore. This is despite the fact that men and women are educated equally throughout the country. According to CEOScore, the share of women has continuously increased, rising from 3% in 2019 to 6.9% in 2021. The increase comes after the government revised a regulation in 2020 that forbids large publicly traded companies from having all-male or all-female boards.

The lack of female leaders in South Korean enterprises reflects the country's extensive gender disparity, which has the largest income difference among developed countries, according to Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development data.

Prior to joining Bioepis in 2015, Kim was a lead scientist and then a vice president at Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology, the company's research and development arm that focused on antibody therapies for oncology. Kim becomes the second woman to oversee a Samsung affiliate. Lee Boo-jin, the granddaughter of late Samsung founder Lee Byung-chull and the CEO of Hotel Shilla Co., was the first woman to lead a Samsung company.

Samsung was founded in 1938 by Lee, who opened his first store in the southern city of Daegu, selling dried fish, fruit, and noodles. Lee expanded into transportation, real estate, brewing, and insurance before relocating to Seoul in 1947. He founded Samsung Electronics in 1969 and led the company until his death in 1987. Following the death of former chairman Lee Kun-hee in 2020, his grandkids and professional management currently govern the conglomerate.