Korea Deloitte Group Publishes '2025 Corporate Governance Resource Guide'

The Corporate Governance Development Center of Deloitte Korea Group announced on the 24th that it has published the "2025 Corporate Governance Resource Guide (4th Edition)," which contains the latest framework and global insights on the roles of the board of directors and audit committees.

This publication was prepared to provide practical guidelines to boards of directors and audit committees by including recently newly established or revised governance-related laws and regulations, global trends, value enhancement programs, IFRS sustainability disclosure standards, internal control measures for financial companies, and the 2024 revised edition of the Deloitte Governance Framework.

Deloitte Korea Group pointed out that for Korean corporate governance to meet global standards, it is necessary to strengthen the supervisory functions of the board and shareholder protection, and to continuously pursue institutional improvements.

In the 2024 National Competitiveness Ranking released earlier by the International Institute for Management Development (IMD), Korea ranked 20th out of 67 countries and 28th in the "Management Practices" category, highlighting the strengthening of board supervisory functions, establishment of transparent decision-making systems, and protection of shareholder rights as key areas for improvement. According to the "CG Watch 2023" report by the Asian Corporate Governance Association (ACGA), Korea's corporate governance was ranked 8th among 12 Asian countries, with major challenges including ▲ governance reform roadmap and strengthening shareholder rights ▲ tightening regulations on treasury stock ▲ revision of the stewardship code ▲ improvement of the general shareholders' meeting system.

The guide is composed of three main chapters: corporate governance, board of directors, and audit committee. It includes basic guidelines for boards and audit committees, as well as checkpoints, relevant statistical data, expert contributions, and reference materials for each subtopic to help readers better understand the content.

Chapter 1, "Corporate Governance," presents the principles and frameworks of corporate governance in major countries, disclosure of corporate governance reports and sustainability reports, and the Deloitte Governance Framework, outlining the desirable direction for corporate governance. Chapter 2, "Board of Directors," provides the main roles of the board, key areas of interest, and models for effective supervisory functions. Chapter 3, "Audit Committee," comprehensively introduces the establishment and composition of audit committees, their roles and responsibilities, evaluation, compensation, and training.

Additionally, the guide's completeness was enhanced through the review by Professor Jang Jeong-ae of Ajou University School of Law and Professor Noh Jun-hwa of Chungnam University Business Administration Department, both advisory members of the Corporate Governance Development Center of Deloitte Korea Group.

Kim Han-seok, head of the Corporate Governance Development Center at Deloitte Korea Group, stated, "This revised edition will provide practical assistance to boards of directors and audit committees of companies striving to advance corporate governance and improve accounting transparency."