The Era of the "Second Financial Statement" Begins — Significance of Korea's Finalized ESG Disclosure Roadmap and Corporate Tasks

ESG is an international standard framework for corporate sustainability composed of three pillars: Environmental, Social, and Governance. In 2026, Korea officially transitioned this framework into a mandatory disclosure system through the finalization of KSSB standards and the announcement of the Financial Services Commission roadmap.[Image = Korea Business Review DB] 5 Years of Drifting, Finally Dropping Anchor Back in January 2021, when the Financial Services Commission first announced "staged mandatory ESG disclosures starting from 2025," the market held both expectations and tension. However, the schedule was subsequently postponed twice, and phrases like "delayed beyond 2026" gradually came to be perceived by corporate ESG managers as an implicit signal that "it will be postponed again." That momentum shifted dramatically in 2026. On February 25, 2026, at the 4th Transition Meeting …