ESG Update: South Korea

In this article we look at this year's ESG trends from a South Korean perspective. What impact can we expect from international reporting measures? And what local measures are being considered?

Background

In the first half of 2023, ESG trends in Korea have continued to be as dynamic as in the past few years. The Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) conducted a survey on the 2023 ESG Trends among 100 of the top 500 companies, ranked by sales. 93% of respondents indicated that ESG management would increase this year. Key areas of interest were mandatory ESG disclosure, improvement of ESG evaluation, and the response to the EU Directive on Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence. Korean government is also taking steps to strengthen its policies to promote ESG management. To this end, in February 2023, it established the Private-Public Joint ESG Policy Council, comprised of relevant government agencies (including the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, the Ministry