24 Korean firms named to Dow Jones’ sustainability index

A total of 24 Korean companies have been added to the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (DJSI World) this year, the Korea Productivity Center said Sunday.

The selected domestic companies include SK Telecom, LG Electronics, Kia, Hyundai Engineering & Construction, S-Oil, Shinhan Financial Group, KB Financial Group and Samsung SDI, according to the public institution.

The DJSI World is part of a larger family of Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI) launched in 1999 as the first global sustainability benchmark.

The index is recognized by investors as an accredited benchmark of a company’s commitment to environment, social and governance matters, as well as industry-specific sustainability trends.

This year, 12.8 percent, or 326 companies of 2,555 evaluated across the globe, were featured in the index. Among the 24 Korean companies listed were SK Telecom, which has maintained its place for 14 years except in 2020. Samsung Securities, S-Oil and Hyundai E&C have stayed on the list for 13 years straight.

Mirae Asset, SK Inc. and LG Electronics maintained their spots for 11 consecutive years, while Shinhan Financial and Samsung SDI were listed for 10 and eight years straight, respectively.

KB Financial has made it on the list for the seventh year, while Samsung Group’s construction unit Samsung C&T Corp. has been included on the list for six years straight. Kakao, Samsung Biologics and Hyundai Motor Group maintained their positions on the list this year.

Hana Financial Group, the country’s top cosmetics maker Amorepacific, Posco Holdings, Kia and IT solutions provider Samsung SDS were newly included in the index.

In the DJSI Asia Pacific index, Amorepacific, Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance and Samsung SDS were newly added. Samsung SDI, Samsung Electro-Mechanics, Shinhan Financial, SKT, LG Household & Health Care, KB Financial, Mirae Asset, Samsung Securities, SK hynix and LG Electronics maintained their positions on the list again this year.

For DJSI Korea, 13 local firms including Kumho Petrochemical, Korean Air, convenience store chain operator BGF, SK Biopharmaceuticals, SK IE Technology, game developer NCSoft and tobacco company KT&G were incorporated for the first time.

The Korea Productivity Center highlighted the growing importance of evaluation criteria for measuring companies’ ESG management levels as sustainable-minded investments have been activated in the capital market.

“A majority of local firms have focused on climate change issues. However, they need to put efforts into improving their ESG management levels by broadening fields such as biodiversity and industrial safety and health,” the KPC said.