[2021 Mirae Company Forum] Chairman Jeon Gwang-woo: "ESG Drives Global Sustainable Growth"

Jeon Gwang-woo, Chairman of the World Economy Research Institute, is delivering a congratulatory speech at the '2021 Asia Future Business Forum' hosted by Asia Economy on the 29th at the Western Chosun Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul. Asia Economy set the theme of this year's Future Business Forum as 'Korean-style ESG Solutions in the New Normal Era' and prepared a place to consider ways to enhance the value of our companies through expert lectures in the ESG field. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Changhwan Lee] "ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) will become an important catalyst driving the world's sustainable growth after the COVID-19 pandemic."

Jeon Gwang-woo, Chairman of the World Economy Research Institute (former Chairman of the Financial Services Commission), stated on the 29th at the '2021 Asia Future Enterprise Forum' held at the Westin Chosun Hotel in Sogong-dong, Seoul, that ESG will play a role in promoting sustainable growth of the global economy after the COVID-19 crisis.

In his congratulatory remarks at the event, Chairman Jeon emphasized, "It is encouraging that there is a global consensus recognizing ESG as an important catalyst driving sustainable growth in the post-pandemic new normal era."

Chairman Jeon analyzed, "The legacy of the COVID-19 crisis, considered the biggest shock since World War II, is a change in the economic paradigm. There is a rising trend to prioritize medium- to long-term resilience over short-term efficiency, and the management paradigm is shifting from maximizing shareholder profits in a narrow sense to maximizing the interests of a broad range of stakeholders."

He added, "Given this background, it is not surprising that ESG is emerging as a keyword in the post-pandemic era. ESG is not a temporary fad but will establish itself as a 'megatrend.'"

He summarized the reasons into three main points. The first is the BlackRock effect. Chairman Jeon said, "BlackRock is the world's largest asset management company and a major shareholder in global leading companies. The letter from Larry Fink, Chairman of BlackRock, at the beginning of last year, stating the intention to focus investments on ESG-leading companies to enhance corporate value from a long-term perspective, had a significant impact."

The second is the Biden administration, and the third is the impact of COVID-19. He analyzed, "The core of Bidenomics is eco-friendly policies, and the importance of 'E' in ESG, which stands for Environment, is especially increasing."

He continued, "The COVID-19 crisis also revealed the seriousness of unprecedented infectious diseases and natural disasters, serving as a wake-up call to the urgency of addressing global warming, ecosystem destruction, and climate change."

Jeon Gwang-woo, Chairman of the World Economy Research Institute, is delivering a congratulatory speech at the '2021 Asia Future Business Forum' hosted by Asia Economy on the 29th at the Western Chosun Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul. Asia Economy set this year's theme for the Future Business Forum as 'Korean-style ESG Solutions in the New Normal Era' and prepared a session to contemplate ways to enhance the value of our companies through expert lectures in the ESG field. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

"ESG will play a role in promoting sustainable growth"

Regarding criticism that the ESG concept is vague due to its comprehensiveness, he reiterated that it is important to remember that ESG plays a role in promoting sustainable growth. Chairman Jeon stated, "It should be remembered that the values and goals pursued by ESG management and policies are to enhance sustainable growth (ESG = Enhancing Sustainable Growth)."

He especially emphasized, "Now is the time to recognize climate change and social polarization as urgent issues humanity faces and to unite efforts for the internalization and mainstreaming of ESG. To realize the values pursued by ESG investment and management, joint efforts are required not only from the companies concerned but also from national policies, international cooperation, and all members of society including consumers."

He also pointed out that there are many challenges to be addressed for the ESG system to take root. He raised, "Issues such as fairness in ESG evaluation, lack of standardization in evaluation models, and limitations in ESG-related disclosure and accounting systems must be overcome. There is also a need to reflect the specificities of each country, industry, and company in applying ESG standards."

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