To strengthen ethical management, KT&G (CEO Baek Bok-in) announced on the 8th the "KT&G Group Business Ethics Charter," which contains common standards of conduct among group companies.

Approximately twenty people attended the proclamation ceremony for the "KT&G Group Ethics Charter" at the Courtyard Marriott Namdaemun Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul, including KT&G President Baek Bok-in, representatives of seven domestic subsidiaries including KGC Ginseng Corporation, Youngjin Pharm, Cosmocos, and KGC Life & Gin, and compliance officers.

Internally and externally committed to ethical management, KT&G has recently revised its ethics charter to provide common standards for evaluating values through group-level guidelines. In particular, this 'Group Ethics Charter', which underwent its third revision since its inception in 2003, aimed to reflect the altered business environment, such as global business expansion and reinforced ESG management.

Based on the company's management philosophy of "an upright company, a conscientious company, and a shared company," the "KT&G Group Ethics Charter" contains eight themes and thirty-one items. The primary topics include "business ethics," "protection of assets and information," "domestic and international transactions," and "social responsibility.” Responsible research and development and social media use were added as new subcategories.

This Ethics Charter is distributed in eight languages to 21 companies, including overseas corporations and domestic and foreign subsidiaries, in order to facilitate the comprehension of all group members from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Moving away from the legal text format, it provides a more specific and understandable code of conduct through the use of descriptive phrases and the addition of practically applicable examples. 

A KT&G representative stated, "Reinforcing ethical management is a prerequisite for a global company's sustainable growth." He went on to say, "By enhancing group-wide ethical management, the internal control system will be advanced, and efforts will be made to establish a global business management system.”

In addition, KT&G received the 'Excellent Institution Award for Internal Audit Private Enterprises' from the Korea Audit Association for its global-standard ethical management system. Additionally, we take the lead each year in establishing a corporate culture for ethical management, including the 'Ethical Practice' pledge, ethical management education, and the 'Think Twice' ethical management campaign. 

(Picture) To strengthen ethical management, KT&G announced the "KT&G Group Business Ethics Charter," which contains common standards of conduct among group companies. At the 'KT&G Group Ethics Charter Proclamation Ceremony' held at the Courtyard Marriott Namdaemun Hotel on August 8, KT&G CEO Baek Bok-in (fourth from left) and representatives of seven domestic subsidiaries pose for a commemorative photo.