Women who were formerly cabinet members, Han Myeong-sook, the first Minister of Gender Equality and the Minister of Environment and Kim Myung-ja, the Minister of Environment were elected to the National Assembly, For the first time in the history of the National Assembly, there are three committees that are chaired by women- Gender Equality and Family Committee chaired by Kim Ae-sil, National Policy Committee, by Kim Hee-sun, and finally, the Culture and Tourism Committee, by Lee Mikyung. Also, lawmaker Park Geun-hye is the representative of the major opposition party, Grand National Party, while outside the Assembly, an era of woman party leaders has started with Kim Hye-kyung, a former anti-poverty activist, as the president of Democratic Labor Party. Although not a politician but with significant symbolic influence, the First Lady Kwon Yang-suk, expresses her concern for the underprivileged including the handicapped and also actively supports women by participating in women-related events.
Jang Ha-jin, Minister of Gender Equality and Family, Kim Sun-uk, Minister of Government Legislation, and Park Sun-sook, Vice Minister of Environment are current female members of the cabinet. Other high-ranking women officials include Park Ki-young, Advisor to the President for Information, Science, and Technology, Kim Kyeong-im, Ambassador to the Republic of Tunisia, Kim Chung-sook, the Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, Choi Young-ae and Jung Kang-ja senior commissioners of the National Human Rights Commission, Choi Young-hee, Chairperson of the Commission on Youth Protection, Suh Myung-sun, President of the Korean Women's Development Institute, and Hwang In-ja, Head of the Seoul Metropolitan Government's Women and Family Policy Bureau.
In the legal circles, followed by the appointment of Jeon Hyo-sook as a Justice of Constitutional Court in 2003, in August of 2004, Daejeon High Court's senior judge, Kim Young-ran became the first woman appointed to the Supreme Court and senior judge of Seoul High Court, Lee Young-ae became the first woman chief justice of a regional court (Chuncheon).
Although women are still a minority compared to the male population in the economic world, their numbers are increasing as they are demonstrate outstanding abilities.
After taking over Aekyung, a company founded by her husband 13 years ago, Chang Young-sin has nurtured it into a major enterprise with 13 affiliates. Lee Myung-hee, the President of Shinsegae put her company on the top of the distribution industry, just five years after separating from Samsung in 1997. Also, Hyundai's Chairwoman Hyun Jung-eun is recognized for her leadership as she successfully managed Hyundai's businesses with North Korea after the death of her husband, Chung Mong-hun.
President of Virtualtek, Suh Ji-hyun, is a 1st generation venture-businesswoman who founded a company that developed "collaborative solutions for businesses". In 2001, Asiaweek magazine selected Suh as one of the 25 young leaders of the Asian economy. And last year, Park Ji-young, CEO of Com2uS- the first company in Korea to develop mobile games for cellular phones- was selected by Time magazine as a "global tech leader."
Women corporate executives include Kim Jin, Managing Director of LG Electronics Design Management Center's Mobile Communications Design Institute, Sul Keum-hee, Managing Director of Human Resources and Corporate Support Division of LG CNS, Jang Gye-won, Managing Director of CJ GLS, Yoon Song-yee, Vice President of SK Telecom, Song Young-hee, Managing Director of LG Household & Health Care, Park Hyun-jung, Managing Director of Samsung Fire & Marine Insurances, Lee Taek-geum Managing Director of Korean Air, Lee Hyun-jung, Deputy Managing Director of Samsung Electronics, and Choi Jung-soon, Chief of Woongjin's Human Resources Development Center.
Representatives of women's economic associations, through which businesswomen develop networks, are Jung Myung-kum of Korean Women Entrepreneurs Association, Kang Ki-won of Korean Business Woman Federation, Kim Sang-kyung of Women's Financial Network, Kim Soon-jin of 21c Women CEO Association, Song Hye-ja of Korea Venture Business Women's Association, Han Mi-young of Korea Women Inventors Association, and Hong Mi-hee of Korea IT Business Women's Association.