[2022 Asia ESG Forum] Director Kim Dong-su "Beyond Social Responsibility to Long-term Corporate Profit Creation"

Kim Dong-su, Head of the ESG Management Research Institute at Kim & Chang Law Office, is giving a lecture on the past, present, and future of ESG at the 2022 Asia ESG Symposium held on the 4th at the Westin Chosun Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

Kim Dong-su, head of the ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) Management Research Institute at Kim & Chang, emphasized that ESG not only fulfills a company's social and moral responsibilities but can also lead to long-term profit generation for the company.

At the '2022 ESG Symposium' hosted by Asia Economy on the 4th at the Westin Chosun Hotel in Sogong-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul, Kim stated, "While the global population has increased by 1.76 times over the past 42 years, the economic scale has grown 9.1 times. However, during this period, the wealth gap has widened and environmental issues such as greenhouse gases have worsened. Companies are directly suffering damages." He analyzed, "According to data from Swiss reinsurance company Swiss Re, 86% of the costs lost by companies are related to ESG."

Kim judged that ESG performance is closely linked to value enhancement such as cost reduction or increased preference for companies. Companies leading ESG can be properly recognized for their value by consumers and investors, and can even create sustainability for growth.

He particularly cited examples of global companies and stressed that domestic companies should move beyond passively implementing ESG or merely following the level of other companies, and instead adopt an 'active' or 'proactive' strategy to lead ESG initiatives.

Kim further cited the 'BMW i8,' which applies carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) to the car body, as an example of a proactive ESG strategy. The BMW i8 reduces the car's weight to one-quarter due to the use of CFRP while increasing elasticity sevenfold. He said, "This means that beyond reducing production costs, consumers can drive much farther with the same amount of fuel when using this car." He added, "Norwegian power company Ørsted was the largest greenhouse gas emitter in Norway in 2016, but now produces 98% of its energy from renewable sources. This can also be seen as an ESG proactive strategy."