[2021 Mirae Company Forum] "ESG Is Not Just Recognized... It Must Be Actively Promoted"

Choi Se-jung, Outside Director of Kakao's ESG Committee (Professor at Korea University), is giving a lecture at the '2021 Asia Future Business Forum' hosted by Asia Economy on the 29th at the Western Chosun Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul. Asia Economy set the theme of this year's Future Business Forum as 'Korean-style ESG Solutions in the New Normal Era' and prepared a session to contemplate ways to enhance the value of our companies through expert lectures in the ESG field. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] "Companies practicing ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) management are not automatically recognized by those around them. They must actively communicate the actions they take so that consumers can also participate."

Professor Choi Se-jung of Korea University, who serves as an outside director of Kakao and a member of the ESG Committee under its board of directors, emphasized ESG management involving various stakeholders at the Asia Future Business Forum held on the 29th. ESG should not be decided solely by the company as a way of operating the business, but rather various stakeholders including consumers, shareholders, local communities, and partners should empathize and participate together to achieve practical effects.

He cited Danggeun Market, an online secondhand trading platform gaining attention, which organizes and communicates small initiatives such as free sharing and tree planting, saying, "For ESG management to succeed properly, consumer participation is absolutely necessary, and if consumers do not empathize and join, it is meaningless."

According to Professor Choi, regarding the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) proposed by the international community centered on the United Nations, Korean citizens tend to have a high willingness to participate in issues such as the environment, climate change, and inequality reduction, but relatively less in areas like industrial innovation, infrastructure, and global partnerships. In particular, in the case of sustainable consumption and production, while expectations for companies as implementers are high, the willingness to participate personally is relatively low. Professor Choi said, "From a company's perspective, actively communicating may carry some risks, but if they do not properly communicate, it can backfire and result in a negative image."

Professor Choi emphasized that gaining trust is important in the process of companies promoting ESG management. He said, "The reason for emphasizing ESG management is to gain trust from various stakeholders," adding, "It is not simply about being a good company or a passive concept like charity, but fundamentally, when it operates as a management method of the company, it must provide trust as a desirable philosophy that can be commonly shared."