COVID-19 Pandemic, ESG, and Acceleration of Digital Management (Comprehensive)

Shinhan Financial Group Holds 20th Anniversary International Conference... Announces New ESG Slogan
Chairman Jeon Gwang-woo: "COVID-19 Accelerates ESG Management Approach"
Chairman Cho Yong-byeong: "Social Value Will Be Recognized as an Important Corporate Evaluation Criterion"

On the 2nd, attendees including Ko Seung-beom, Chairman of the Financial Services Commission, Jeon Kwang-woo, Chairman of the World Economy Institute, and Cho Yong-byeong, Chairman of Shinhan Financial Group, are taking a commemorative photo at the 'World Economy Institute-Shinhan Financial Group International Conference' held at Lotte Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul, celebrating the 20th anniversary of Shinhan Financial Group's founding. Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwangho Lee] "The COVID-19 pandemic will accelerate ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) and digital management."

Domestic and international scholars and global corporate experts unanimously agreed that the future financial and economic paradigm will undergo significant changes toward ESG management and digital management based on mobile technology.

At the World Economy Institute-Shinhan Financial Group International Conference held on the 2nd at Lotte Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul, Jeon Gwang-woo, Director of the World Economy Institute, stated in his opening remarks, "The ESG management-centered approach is gaining rapid momentum," and predicted, "The COVID-19 pandemic will bring about a fundamental paradigm shift in government and corporate policies."

Ko Seung-beom, Chairman of the Financial Services Commission, said, "COVID-19 has expanded mobile-based untact business and accelerated 'digital innovation'." He added, "Through the convergence of technology and finance, new values that did not exist before are being rapidly created, spreading innovation momentum everywhere," and diagnosed, "The financial and economic paradigm is also shifting from a focus on traditional financial performance to emphasizing social values such as low carbon, eco-friendliness, and fairness for sustainable growth."

Lee Ju-yeol, Governor of the Bank of Korea, emphasized preparation for the post-COVID-19 situation, including digitalization and transition to an eco-friendly economy. Governor Lee said, "It is not easy to predict exactly how the post-pandemic era will unfold, but it is clear that the COVID-19 pandemic has made digitalization and the transition to an eco-friendly economy an irreversible trend."

Cho Yong-byeong, Chairman of Shinhan Financial Group, also mentioned the importance of sustainable innovation in his welcoming remarks. Chairman Cho observed, "ESG has completely changed the meaning of growth, which was previously represented by profit and scale in the global economy," and predicted, "In the future, protecting social values will be recognized as an important criterion for evaluating companies." He added, "Digital technology has created a new ecosystem that makes this change possible," and stated, "Only organizations that deeply understand digital technology and build capabilities can create sustainable innovation."

Jeffrey Sachs, Chair of the UN Sustainable Development Network and University Professor at Columbia University, who delivered the keynote speech at this conference, expressed, "The world must rapidly achieve carbon neutrality, and Korea's international role is very important in this regard."

Mark Carney, current UN Special Envoy on Climate Change and former Governor of the Bank of England (BOE), also urged in his keynote speech, "Achieving carbon neutrality globally requires the alliance of all stakeholders including governments, companies, and individuals," calling for nationwide cooperation for carbon neutrality.

George Roberts, co-founder of the global private equity firm KKR, stated, "KKR has invested over one billion dollars in ESG-related projects over the past decade and is currently working to establish ESG investment standards across all sectors," and emphasized, "This trend, led by the MZ generation, is a significant turning point in the capital market."

Meanwhile, through the international conference, Shinhan Financial Group announced its new ESG brand slogan, 'Do the Right Thing for a Wonderful World.'

Shinhan set its ESG value standard as "Is this the Right Thing?" and incorporated the will (Do) to create a better future, the 'Wonderful World,' together with customers through ESG into the slogan.

To easily communicate the meaning of the ESG brand slogan to customers, Shinhan Financial Group will also run a new advertising campaign through its social media brand channel, 'Gibalhan Production (a production discovering opportunities in Korea).'

The campaign features Shin Yu-bin, a teenage sports star who excelled in women's table tennis at the Tokyo Olympics and has ties with Shinhan Financial Group through the Shinhan Rookies Sponsorship and support for the national table tennis team, participating as the narrator.

Through Shin Yu-bin, a future generation growing together with Shinhan Financial Group, the ESG orientation envisioned by Shinhan was conveyed to customers more sincerely and straightforwardly.

A Shinhan Financial Group official said, "We plan to continuously communicate with customers about the group's ESG management achievements through Gibalhan Production," and added, "Various events for customers will also be held together."

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