[Asia Economy Reporter Minji Lee] SK Securities announced on the 19th that it has become the first financial institution in Korea to acquire carbon emission rights (external project certification performance, KOC).
Carbon emission rights are the rights to emit greenhouse gases, issued by the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change), and surplus or deficient emission rights can be traded like commodities in the market.
This achievement is significant as it is the first time since the implementation of the system allowing domestic companies to introduce greenhouse gas reduction results from projects conducted abroad, marking the participation of a company not subject to emission rights allocation in greenhouse gas reduction projects and securing emission rights.
SK Securities foresaw the importance and growth potential of ESG and established a renewable energy division in 2017. In the ESG sector, it holds financial advisory achievements worth 1.1 trillion KRW, including Yeonggwang Wind Power (80MW), Korea's first onshore and offshore hybrid wind power complex, and Korea's first LPG and LNG dual-fuel fuel cell power generation project.
Additionally, starting with the issuance of Korea Development Bank's Green Bond worth 300 billion KRW in May 2018, the first of its kind in Korea, SK Securities has underwritten a total of 2.4 trillion KRW (excluding MBS underwriting), including Korea South Power's Green Bond worth 100 billion KRW and Busan Bank's Sustainability Bond worth 100 billion KRW. In 2020, it became the first financial institution in Korea to join the Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN) under the UNFCCC as a member institution.
An SK Securities official stated, “SK Securities plans to strengthen communication with stakeholders including customers, shareholders, members, and society by expanding green finance projects and developing new businesses, thereby laying the foundation for sustainable growth.”
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