Export-Import Bank to Host OECD Environmental Experts Meeting in Seoul

Korea Hosts OECD Environmental and Social Experts Meeting with Mubo for the First Time
About 50 Environmental and Social Experts from 25 Countries Including OECD Members Attend

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Je-hoon] The Export-Import Bank of Korea announced on the 24th that it will jointly host the 46th Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Environmental and Social Practitioners' Meeting with the Korea Trade Insurance Corporation over two days until the 25th at the Westin Chosun Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul.

The OECD Environmental and Social Practitioners' Meeting is a forum composed of experts to revise and establish common environmental and social review guidelines (Common Approaches) applied to public export credit agencies (ECAs) of various countries, and to share application cases and review methods. The meeting is usually held at the OECD headquarters (Paris) in the first half of the year and rotates among member countries in the second half. In Korea's case, the meeting scheduled to be held in Seoul in 2020 was postponed due to COVID-19.

This meeting is the first Environmental and Social Practitioners' Meeting held in Korea, with about 50 environmental experts from 25 OECD member countries attending to review the environmental and social impacts of export credit-related projects and seek ways to minimize those impacts. Since Korea joined the OECD in 1996, the Export-Import Bank of Korea has played a leading role within the meeting group, including producing the first Korean chairperson (Im Dong-jun, Head of the Environmental and Social Review Team at the bank) of the Export Credit Group (ECG) under the OECD Trade Committee in 2018.

The bank plans to share the latest trends so that the contents of this meeting can be utilized in each institution’s Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) management policies and climate risk assessments. Last year, the bank became the first policy bank to announce an ESG management roadmap, established a dedicated ESG department and ESG committee, and designated ESG financial programs.

In his opening remarks, Yoon Hee-sung, President of the Export-Import Bank of Korea, stated, "As a public financial institution, the bank will actively strive to support the enhancement of our companies’ global ESG competitiveness and contribute to achieving the national carbon neutrality goal, thereby expanding the creation of social value."

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