ESG POLICY & STRATEGY

ESG Reports Can No Longer Be Just for PR: 5 Areas to Check Ahead of the 2028 Disclosure Transition

The South Korean government is pushing to mandate ESG disclosure in business reports for KOSPI-listed companies with consolidated assets of 10 trillion won or more starting in 2028, which will require legal revisions. ESG reports must explain the basis for selecting material issues, along with the data collection scope and calculation standards covering domestic and overseas subsidiaries. Climate disclosures and greenhouse gas emissions are the core of initial preparations, and even if Scope 3 disclosure is deferred, data requests to partner companies may begin earlier. To prepare for the third-party verification and liability exemption systems proposed by the government, companies must manage data sources, calculation methods, underlying assumptions, and internal review processes. While keeping an eye on the EU's streamlined reporting and the spread of ISSB standards, the core task is to organize verifiable data and management systems rather than merely increasing report length.