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On Jun. 29, KT&G (CEO Bang Kyung-man) published the “2025 KT&G Report,” detailing the company's sustainability management strategy and ESG management achievements. KT&G has published ESG reports since 2007 to transparently disclose its ESG management performance to stakeholders both in Korea and overseas. The 2025 KT&G Report highlights the company’s key achievements and strategic initiatives aimed at enhancing corporate value under the theme of proactive change and innovation. In addition to showcasing the company’s core business competitiveness—including the expansion of its global business and improved profitability, which drove record-high annual revenue last year—the report also presents KT&G’s mid- to long-term plans to accelerate future growth engines. The report also introduces KT&G’s newly established ESG vision and five core values under its sustainability goal of creating value beyond growth. The five core values are: strengthening climate response capabilities, accelerating the circular economy, delivering industry-specific ESG value, building a responsible industry ecosystem, and fostering sustainable human growth. The company has also adopted “Beyond Growth, with Sustainability” as its new ESG vision. To further underscore its commitment to transparent corporate management and advanced governance, the report includes a dedicated section on corporate governance. KT&G has established a robust governance framework by maintaining an outside director ratio of more than 75% and separating the roles of CEO and Chairman of the Board. The company also demonstrated its commitment to responsible decision-making, with all board members achieving a 100% attendance rate across all 12 board meetings held last year. KT&G has also actively enhanced shareholder value by expanding shareholder returns. Last year, the company returned a total of KRW 1.1874 trillion to shareholders, including KRW 627.4 billion in dividends and KRW 560 billion through treasury share repurchases and cancellations, resulting in a total shareholder return ratio of 108.9%. Reflecting these achievements, KT&G became the first company in its industry to receive the highest AAA rating from Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) last year. The company also received the Presidential Citation in the Comprehensive ESG category at the Government Awards for Sustainable Management and was recognized as a 2025 Value-Up Outstanding Company by the Korea Exchange. On the environmental front, KT&G reduced greenhouse gas emissions at its business sites by 9.3% compared with 2020 levels and increased its renewable energy usage rate to approximately 23%, reinforcing its commitment to environmental responsibility. In July, the company also plans to publish a standalone climate disclosure report detailing climate-related risks and opportunities, response strategies, and their financial impacts. KT&G continues to pursue corporate social responsibility initiatives closely aligned with its business operations. Notably, the company remains the only tobacco manufacturer in Korea to purchase its entire supply of domestic tobacco leaves from local growers, while also supporting farming communities by providing health screenings and scholarships for farmers’ children to help bring stability to the agricultural community. KT&G CEO Bang Kyung-man stated, “By strengthening our business competitiveness and advancing our ESG management framework, we have delivered meaningful business results while laying the foundation for sustainable growth. Moving forward, we will continue to strike a balance between enhancing our core business competitiveness and advancing ESG management, creating both corporate value and social value at the same time.”