KT&G (President Bok-in Baek) was rated AA, the highest rating for a Korean company, at Environment, Social, and Governance (“ESG”) index evaluation conducted by Morgan Stanley Capital International (“MSCI”), a global investment information provider.

KT&G was evaluated by MSCI, along with 11 tobacco companies around the world, and was rated AA, which is one level higher than the A that KT&G received last year. This is a higher rating than that of the top 3 global tobacco companies, and in particular, a company that receives an AA or higher rating is classified as an ESG Leader in the industry.

Every year, MSCI classifies over 8,500 listed companies in the world by industry, and evaluates management status related to the environment, social responsibility, and corporate governance to assign ratings ranging from AAA to CCC.

This year, KT&G took first place among the 11 companies for responsible marketing and excellent quality management within the “Product Safety and Quality” category. As for the “Governance” category, KT&G received high marks for the newly established items including “business ethics” and “tax transparency”. The company’s operation of the board of directors equipped with diversity and expertise was also evaluated as the best in the industry.

An official from KT&G said, “The evaluation result this year is meaningful in that KT&G’s ESG management has been recognized worldwide and that the company is now classified into the ESG Leader group,” and added, “We will continue to strive for the sustainable development of the company based on our advanced governance.”

Meanwhile, KT&G was honored with the “Grand Prize” of the corporate governance evaluation conducted by Korea Corporate Governance Service in 2019, in recognition of having established an excellent sustainability management system. In addition, KT&G has been publishing the “KT&G REPORT” since 2007 to deliver transparent and accurate ESG information to the stakeholders at home and abroad, and to share a variety of social responsibility activities.

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