Korea Development Bank Issues 300 Billion KRW Green Bonds

First Domestic Bank to Obtain Green Bond Rating (Highest Grade G1)

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Sun-mi] On the 25th, the Korea Development Bank announced that it has completed the issuance of 300 billion KRW worth of won-denominated green bonds, the first domestic bank to obtain a green bond rating, to support eco-friendly projects such as renewable energy and green transportation.

The total issuance amount is 300 billion KRW with a maturity of 3 years and an interest rate of 1.25%. These bonds were issued in compliance with the government’s green bond guidelines under the 'Memorandum of Understanding for the Activation of Green Bonds' signed by the Korea Development Bank with the Ministry of Environment and others on February 16. Notably, it is the first domestic bank to apply the ESG certification evaluation methodology to green bonds and received the highest rating of ‘G1’ from Korea Ratings.

This rating was applied as an external review method defined in the green bond guidelines, called ‘Green Bond Scoring/Rating,’ which comprehensively assesses fund management, selection of supported projects, and post-reporting to evaluate the bonds on a five-level scale.

The Korea Development Bank plans to use the raised funds to support green eco-friendly projects such as renewable energy (solar power and hydrogen fuel cell power generation projects) and green transportation (railroads and eco-friendly ships). The usage details and environmental improvement contributions will be reviewed annually by an external agency and disclosed on the bank’s website until the funds are fully utilized.

A Korea Development Bank official stated, "Through continuous issuance of green bonds, we will establish a standard model that complies with government guidelines in the market and play an important role in the development of domestic green finance."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.