A group of institutional investors representing ₩4.7 trillion (US$ 3.5 trillion) in AUM and backed by the Asia Investor Group on Climate Change (AIGCC) has demanded robust climate action from South Korea’s Financial Services Commission (FSC). In a letter to Chairman Byoung Hwan Kim, the coalition urged the FSC to finalise the country’s sustainability-related disclosure roadmap, and mandate climate disclosure through a phased approach from 2026. More specifically, the letter called for: a clear roadmap for the early implementation of mandatory sustainability-related disclosures by year-end; mandated climate disclosure for listed companies with assets over US$1.48 trillion by 2026; and an English-language version of the Korean Sustainability Disclosure Standards, with a request for companies to publish English versions of their sustainability disclosures. The letter follows the AIGCC’s recent response to the Korea Sustainability Standards Board (KSSB) as part of a public consultation on exposure drafts of the standards. “Korea has long been a country of significant interest to global investors due to its competitive positions in diverse industries including semiconductors and automotive, but low company-level valuation relative to other emerging markets,” the letter mentioned. “Expediting the timeline of mandatory sustainability-related disclosure would not overly burden large listed Korean companies, since over half of them are already committed to voluntary sustainability reporting in 2023.” Signatories to the letter included: British Columbia Investment Management; East Capital; Fidelity International; Fineco Asset Management; Global Delta Capital; Legal and General Investment Management (LGIM); Schroders; and Tundra Fonder. Reporting a “growing movement” of large institutional investors focusing on engagement with Korean companies to act on climate change, the AIGCC said it would continue to work with those active in the country through a working group established in July.
