Holding a seminar commemorating the 27th anniversary of the opening of the business
Revision of the Capital Markets Act and Safe Harbour Issues
“Enhance disclosure transparency and investment to increase corporate value”
The Korea Accounting Standards Institute has decided to focus its capabilities on supporting the actual implementation of companies beyond the establishment of sustainability disclosure standards. Discussions on institutional tasks such as the revision of the Capital Markets Act for legal disclosure in 2028 and the establishment of a safe harbor to adjust corporate responsibilities in the early stages of its introduction are also in full swing.
The Korea Accounting Standards Institute announced on the 3rd that it held a seminar commemorating the 27th anniversary of the opening under the theme of “Sustainability Disclosure, the Era of New Standards.” Kwak Byung-jin, head of the Accounting Standards Institute, said in his opening speech that he will focus his capabilities on not only establishing standards but also supporting companies to actually implement the new disclosure system.
Park Min-woo, a standing member of the Securities and Futures Commission, stressed that consistency with global standards, corporate acceptability, and the usefulness and reliability of information provided to investors should be considered together in the process of institutionalizing sustainability disclosure. Park Sang-hyuk, a member of the National Assembly’s political affairs committee, said, “We will continue to discuss legislation to revise the capital market law at the regular session of the National Assembly, evaluating the establishment of KSSB standards as a basis for advancing the capital market.”
Former Deputy Prime Minister for Economy Kwon Oh-kyu presented the artificial intelligence transition (AX) and the green transition (GX) as fundamental changes that the Korean economy should respond to in his keynote speech. He evaluated sustainability disclosures as an information infrastructure that supports climate finance and green transition, stressing that enhancing management transparency through sustainability disclosures can also be an investment that increases corporate value in the long run, just as the introduction of International Accounting Standards (IFRS) in the past increased the credibility of capital markets.
Specific legal issues were also presented to incorporate sustainability disclosures into the legal disclosure system. Jeong Soon-seop, a professor at Seoul National University, said, “We need to design a legal system with international consistency,” citing the establishment of legal disclosure grounds through business reports, establishing disclosure standards and reporting systems, and securing safe harbor to adjust responsibilities at the beginning of the system’s introduction as major tasks for the revision of the Capital Markets Act.
Issues that appear in the actual preparation process of companies were also shared. Joo Sung-ho, head of the Korea Accounting Standards Institute, introduced the progress of the establishment of KSSB disclosure standards and future implementation support plans, and officials from KB Financial Group and SK Hynix explained major issues and countermeasures based on the experience of financial and manufacturing companies preparing for disclosure.
The following discussions discussed the consistency between global standards, the usefulness of sustainability information from an investor’s point of view, and the company’s preparation for disclosure and difficulties. In particular, legal and institutional issues such as data governance, disclosure of related information from the use of artificial intelligence, independence and exemption requirements for certification bodies, as well as the revision of the Capital Market Act for legal disclosure in 2028 and ways to support corporate implementation were also on the main agenda.
For the stable settlement of KSSB standards in the future, the Korea Accounting Standards Institute plans to continue communication and implementation support activities with stakeholders such as companies, strengthen cooperation with international standards-setting organizations such as the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), and convey opinions from domestic companies and capital markets to international discussions.
