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ESG MARKET & CASES
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ESG MARKET & CASES
Beyond Paper Checks: Hyundai Motor's Supply Chain ESG Moves to On-Site Verification at Mines and Smelters
Hyundai Motor conducted ESG written assessments for 2,086 suppliers and on-site audits for 25 suppliers in 2025, while 25 suppliers with potential regulatory violations completed corrective action plans. Independent third-party RCS Global audited 3 mines and smelters in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Indonesia, identifying 58 non-conformities (47 major, 11 minor), with corrective actions currently underway. Legal experts generally view the EU Omnibus Directive, which took effect in March 2026, as clarifying risk-based due diligence rather than simply reducing audit volume. Through a mutual growth agreement signed with the Korea Fair Trade Commission in July, primary suppliers are paid within an average of 10 days post-closing instead of the statutory 60 days, while tier-2 and tier-3 suppliers are supported through training, incentives, and shared growth payments (benefiting an estimated 5,500+ companies). Despite achievements such as achieving RE100 across all operations in Europe, North America, and India, expanding the depth of in-depth audits and securing visibility into tier-2 and tier-3 suppliers remain future tasks.
류현진 선임기자 · 08/10/2026
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ESG MARKET & CASES
Incheon Int'l Airport Corporation, Equipped with an ESG Committee, Failed to Stop Rampant Issuance of Parking Passes
강지혜 선임기자 · 07/10/2026
ESG MARKET & CASES
The Final Puzzle of Successful ESG Management: How to Design Organizational Culture
이지영 기자 · 06/30/2026
ESG MARKET & CASES
A New ESG Issue in the AI Era: How Data Center Power and Water Consumption Are Changing Corporate Sustainability
박소유 책임기자 · 06/27/2026
ESG MARKET & CASES
ESG Dedicated Organizations: Time to Establish or Disband?
이지영 기자 · 06/22/2026
ESG MARKET & CASES
Casebook on ESG Controversies: How Rating Downgrades, Boycotts, and Lawsuits Occur
ESG controversies inflict tangible damage on corporations through three pathways: rating downgrades, consumer boycotts, and regulatory lawsuits. Rating agencies like MSCI evaluate firms on a seven-tier scale from AAA to CCC, with lower grades excluding companies from investment capital inflows. Namyang Dairy Products faced boycotts due to distributor coercion, owner risks, and the 'Bulgaris' controversy, paying the price of plunging sales and the end of nearly 60 years of family management. DWS's exaggerated ESG disclosures ($25 million settlement) and global greenwashing sanctions and class-action lawsuits demonstrate that false eco-friendly claims translate directly into costs and reputational damage. Because these three pathways are interconnected and chain into one another, ESG must be treated as practical management infrastructure rather than a formal committee.
KBR 편집부 · 06/16/2026
ESG MARKET & CASES
ESG Management: The U.S. Retreats, Europe Simplifies, and South Korea Finally Reaches the Starting Line
In 2026, global ESG entered a diverging phase where the U.S., EU, and South Korea are pursuing entirely different regulatory directions for the same concept. The U.S. has effectively withdrawn federal climate disclosure rules, fragmenting ESG around state-level regulations and investor demands. The EU has reduced the scope of CSRD and CSDDD and eased disclosure burdens while maintaining core principles such as double materiality and third-party assurance. South Korea has begun transitioning from voluntary disclosure to a statutory disclosure system through the finalization of KSSB standards and a phased mandatory roadmap starting in 2028. Korean companies must simultaneously manage EU supply chain requirements, KSSB compliance, and investor demand from the U.S. market, viewing ESG not merely as regulatory compliance but as infrastructure for global competitiveness.
강지혜 선임기자 · 06/15/2026
ESG MARKET & CASES
Examining ESG Among Global Enterprises: Strategies and Realities of Leading Companies
Amid the changing global ESG environment, global leading companies such as Apple, Microsoft, and Unilever, along with key domestic corporations including Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Motor Company, POSCO, and SK Hynix, are implementing ESG strategies tailored to their respective industry characteristics. Consumer goods and manufacturing ESG: The war on supply chains and plastics. Unilever: Transparency in goal adjustment and tangible performance. The rise of honest ESG communication: Cases of 'honest ESG' are increasing, where companies transparently disclose realistic adjustments and the reasons behind them—such as Microsoft admitting to emission increases and Unilever revising its plastic targets—rather than clinging to unachievable goals, thereby building trust instead.
강지혜 선임기자 · 06/10/2026
ESG MARKET & CASES
The Illusion That "K-ETS Makes Us Fine": The Blind Spot Revealed by CBAM Article 9
In the first full-scale year of the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), the common belief that "having K-ETS means we are fine" is only half true. The real level of protection is determined not by possessing a system, but by the actual carbon price paid and the quality of verified data. As the EU CBAM entered its full operational phase on January 1, 2026, the long-held assumption inside Korean industry that the K-ETS would largely offset burdens at the EU border has necessitated a reassessment. According to European Commission guidance, CBAM operated as a transitional phase focused purely on reporting obligations from October 1, 2023, to December 31, 2025, but transitioned to a cost system requiring importers to purchase and surrender certificates starting in 2026. The core issue is not whether South Korea operates an emissions trading system, but what carbon costs the EU actually recognizes under CBAM.
김민경 책임기자 · 06/09/2026
