Princess Anne urges South Korean women to pursue leadership

Princess Anne, the Princess Royal, urged highly qualified South Korean women to build their confidence, establish stronger professional networks, and seek sustained support to transition into senior leadership roles on Wednesday. The British royal made the remarks whilst attending the launch of a British-backed career development programme during an official visit to Seoul.

The Korea Herald reported that the younger sister of King Charles III joined a reception for the fourth cohort of the Empower Program at the Four Seasons Hotel Seoul. During the event, she met female professionals working across science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and various other specialised fields. "However competent you get at a subject, being a little bit higher up the order in terms of the business or the relationships also requires a step up in a different sort of confidence," she told the participants, adding that they were already more than well qualified for the next steps.

The career development programme, which originally launched in 2023, is a year-long leadership initiative run jointly by the British Embassy Seoul, the British Chamber of Commerce in Korea, and the UN Women Knowledge and Partnerships Centre. The initiative supports mid-career female professionals through workshops, mentoring, networking, and direct access to senior leaders to promote gender equality and inclusive leadership in their workplaces. Princess Anne emphasised that mentoring and peer networks are vital to helping women sustain their self-belief and overcome barriers to career advancement.

The visit represented her first trip to South Korea since the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics. During her three-day stay, the royal attended several events highlighting bilateral cooperation in veterans affairs, defence, advanced industries, and fashion, alongside holding a private meeting with President Lee Jae Myung on Tuesday. Accompanied by her husband, Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, she also toured advanced technology facilities, including a Hyundai Motor-backed future mobility laboratory and an SK hynix semiconductor minifab located at Korea University.