Kolon Group chairman Lee Woong-yeul won an award from Business and Professional Women Korea for setting an example to encourage women’s participation in the workplace, the business group said on Monday.

Lee was honored with the BWP Gold award for raising female employment to 39 percent at Kolon while adopting a quota system to secure work for female workers. He also introduced a mentoring system for women workers in need of career advice.

The BWP Gold Award is a recognition given to an individual or a group that has raised the status of women and contributed in improving work conditions for women workers in Korea.

BWP Korea is a local branch of one of the biggest business organizations for women in the world.

The award ceremony will take place on Feb. 21 at the Plaza Hotel in Seoul.

By Cynthia J. Kim  (cynthia@heraldcorp.com)