The South Korea Financial Services Commission announced the final roadmap for sustainability disclosure, agreed with the government and the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, which accelerates the move to mandatory ESG reporting for major KOSPI-listed companies. ESG disclosures will be filed as part of corporate business reports under the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act, starting in 2028 for companies with total consolidated assets of at least KRW10 trillion and expanding in 2029 to those with at least KRW5 trillion. After reviewing market practice in 2028 and 2029, authorities will consider lowering the threshold further to KRW2 trillion from 2030. The phased timetable would cover 291 companies including affiliates in 2028 and 3,171 in 2029. The roadmap also sets the liability, assurance and emissions-reporting framework. For the first disclosure year, companies may exclude affiliates that each account for less than 10 percent of both consolidated assets and sales to ease the move to consolidated reporting. During the first three years, companies will be exempt from damages, administrative sanctions and criminal penalties under the act for the full content of sustainability disclosures, although intentional greenwashing will still be subject to damages and administrative sanctions. After that, a narrower safe harbor will apply to uncertain information such as forecasts, emissions estimates and third-party data if disclosures were made faithfully and on reasonable grounds. Third-party verification will become mandatory from 2030, two years after reporting begins. Scope 3 emissions disclosure will be delayed by three years for each reporting cohort, beginning in 2031 for the KRW10 trillion group, 2032 for the KRW5 trillion group and 2033 for any future KRW2 trillion group, while small businesses that are not high-carbon emitters will be exempt. Authorities also paired the roadmap with implementation support and legislative follow-through. Measures include pilot testing and best-practice guidance, a climate-risk platform targeted for 2028, sector-specific scope 3 guidance for 15 key export industries, about 1,000 Life Cycle Inventory datasets by 2028, supply-chain ESG data infrastructure and expanded consulting and funding support. The Korea Exchange will upgrade its voluntary disclosure channel for companies outside the mandatory regime, and authorities will examine broader use of ESG disclosure data by institutional investors and financial firms. A revision bill to the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act is to be prepared as early as July, alongside a working group to develop the legal changes and third-party verification framework.
South Korea Financial Services Commission2026-07-08
South Korea Financial Services Commission finalizes phased ESG disclosure roadmap starting in 2028 for major KOSPI listed companies
The South Korea Financial Services Commission finalized a roadmap that will require ESG disclosures in corporate business reports from 2028 for KOSPI-listed companies with at least KRW10 trillion in consolidated assets, expanding to KRW5 trillion in 2029 and potentially KRW2 trillion later. The package includes an initial safe harbor, mandatory third-party verification from 2030 and a three-year delay to scope 3 emissions reporting for each cohort. Authorities also plan legislative amendments and support measures to help companies prepare.