Samsung Electronics chairman Lee Kun-hee on Tuesday said women must be encouraged to become corporate CEOs when he lunched with a handful of the group’s female executives.

“Women whose careers end before having a chance to become a CEO may not have fully exerted their potential,” Lee was quoted as saying by Rhee In-yong, vice president of communications. 

Lee’s two daughters ― Hotel Shilla president Lee Boo-jin, Cheil Industries vice president Lee Seo-hyun ― also were at the meeting.

The remarks from Samsung’s top man triggered speculation that the conglomerate may be looking into doling out hefty promotions to women at the regular reshuffling scheduled for the end of this year.

There are currently around 1,700 executives at Samsung of the senior vice president level and above, among which 34 are women.

Lee has frequently emphasized the need for society and the corporate sector to encourage women to pursue professional careers.

On the first day that he started to work from Samsung’s Seocho headquarters on a regular basis in April this year, he had made a point of checking out the daycare center.

Throughout the luncheon, Lee encouraged the executives on their work and said he “expects great things from them,” according to Rhee.

After listening to the women talk about their careers and the plights they faced to balance work with their personal lives, Lee said he felt it was their resilience that helped them successfully navigate adversities.

The nation’s top business tycoon has recently been talking more and more about adversities and how to overcome them as Samsung is under mounting pressure in the face of global economic uncertainties.

Lee on Tuesday also stressed there was no reason for women to lose in the competition when they are so competent and resilient.

The executives who attended the luncheon included vice president of Cheil Worldwide Choi Ina, Samsung Electronics’ executive vice presidents Shim Sue and Lee Young-hee, Samsung SDI executive vice president Kim You-mee and Samsung Securities senior vice president Lee Jae-kyung.

By Kim Ji-hyun (jemmie@heraldcorp.com)