SEOUL — South Korea’s major financial groups have achieved a significant milestone in sustainable management, generating a combined total of over 21 trillion won in social value through their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) activities.

According to the banking sector, the total ESG value created by the "Big Four" financial holdings reached 21.63 trillion won. This combined figure accounts for the annual performance of Hana, Shinhan, and Woori Financial Groups for the past year, alongside KB Financial Group's cumulative performance up through the third quarter. KB Financial is scheduled to release its full-year social value results next month.

Shinhan Financial Group: Advancing Disclosure and Growing Social Impact

Shinhan Financial disclosed its ESG activities and performance in its 2025 Sustainability Report. Notably, the group newly introduced a preliminary climate disclosure report based on the standards of the Korea Sustainability Standards Board (KSSB) and restructured its reporting format to align with generative AI-based search environments.

Shinhan generated a total of 6.3425 trillion won in social value last year. Excluding indirect economic contributions such as dividends and taxes, its net social value stood at 3.2635 trillion won, maintaining an upward trajectory since measurement began in 2019.

Hana Financial Group: Expanding Scope and Inclusive Finance

Hana Financial Group announced in its newly published 2025 ESG Impact Report that it created 6.8636 trillion won in ESG value last year, marking a 24% increase from the previous year's 5.5359 trillion won. The number of projects evaluated also expanded from 468 in 2024 to 523 last year.

By category, the Social (S) sector accounted for the largest share at 3.4764 trillion won, followed by Governance (G) and Economic Contributions at 3.0852 trillion won, and the Environmental (E) sector at 302.0 billion won.

Particularly noteworthy was inclusive finance, which generated 1.4107 trillion won. Support for low-income earners and vulnerable groups made up the majority at 1.2998 trillion won, followed by enhanced financial accessibility (70.1 billion won), financial support for small business owners (20.7 billion won), and management and competency building for small business owners (20.1 billion won).

A representative from Hana Financial stated, "Going beyond simple input amounts, we precisely measured the practical changes our core financial business brought to the real economy and society as a whole. We will continue to expand sustainable social value creation based on these measurement results."

Woori Financial Group: Broadening Evaluation Scope Group-Wide

Woori Financial Group recorded 6.0099 trillion won in ESG value for the year. The Social (S) sector took the largest share at 3.1663 trillion won, while the Governance (G) sector generated 2.0112 trillion won.

In its 2025 Group ESG Impact Report, Woori Financial expanded its measurement scope from six major group affiliates to all affiliates across the board. The group converted the impact of its core banking operations—such as financial consumer protection and inclusive finance—on customers and local communities into monetary values.

KB Financial Group: Steady Performance Driven by Support for Vulnerable Groups

KB Financial Group accumulated 2.4140 trillion won in social value up to the third quarter of last year, adding 826.9 billion won in the third quarter alone following 1.5871 trillion won in the first half.

KB Financial highlighted measures to ease financial burdens—such as low-interest loans, preferential interest rates for vulnerable groups, contributions to small business guarantee funds, and loan interest cashbacks—as its primary achievements. Social contribution initiatives, including youth job support, nurturing future generations, and disaster relief efforts, also contributed significantly to its social value creation.

[ⓒ Global Economic Times. 무단전재-재배포 금지]