Economic Organizations Including KEC, Listed Companies Association, and KOSDAQ Association Join Forces... Taking Action on ESG Policy Response

Three Economic Organizations Join Hands for ESG
Propose Evaluation Criteria and Establish Due Diligence Guidelines

Front view of the Korea Employers Federation building

[Asia Economy Reporter Minwoo Lee] Economic organizations have joined hands to support the establishment and cultural spread of corporate Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) policies. They plan to play roles such as presenting opinions on domestic ESG evaluation standards and preparing guidelines to support corporate due diligence.

The Korea Employers Federation, Korea Listed Companies Association, and KOSDAQ Association announced on the 15th that they signed a "Business Agreement on the Establishment and Support of Corporate ESG Policies" at the Federation Hall in Mapo-gu, Seoul, containing these details.

This initiative aims to build a comprehensive collaborative system among leading economic organizations for policy response and corporate support, considering the needs of listed companies that are most directly receiving ESG verification demands from asset management firms such as pension funds and overseas investors.

According to this business agreement, the three organizations will strengthen their policy response capabilities while actively discovering and carrying out specific joint tasks such as voicing government opinions on establishing domestic ESG evaluation standards and preparing guidelines to support voluntary corporate due diligence.

Son Kyung-sik, Chairman of the Korea Employers Federation, said, "Recently, we launched the 'ESG Management Committee,' composed of representatives from 18 group presidents including the four major groups, and established a response system such as the 'ESG Practical Training Course,' but collaboration among economic organizations is important for policy development and response. This will serve as an opportunity to consolidate policy capabilities among economic organizations so that ESG management can lead to enhanced corporate value."

Jung Gu-yong, Chairman of the Korea Listed Companies Association, said, "In 2022, the obligation to disclose corporate governance reports expanded to listed companies with assets exceeding 1 trillion won, and from 2025, the obligation to prepare and disclose sustainability management reports will be added. Although the demands for information disclosure on listed companies are increasingly strengthening, which is quite burdensome, we sympathize with the global policy direction of ESG management and will strive to ensure that incentives are provided to companies that excel in ESG management."

Jang Kyung-ho, Chairman of the KOSDAQ Association, said, "As ESG management spreads domestically, many small and venture companies listed on KOSDAQ are feeling considerable confusion. Through this business agreement, we will seek practical support measures so that ESG acts not as a burden on management activities but as a good opportunity to improve corporate health and prepare for the future."

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