The Korea World Trade Center located in Samseong-dong, Gangnam District, Seoul. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Feb. 4 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s trade ministry convened executives from some of the country’s largest corporations on Wednesday to prepare for sweeping new European rules that would require multinational companies to police human rights and environmental risks across their global operations.
The meeting, hosted by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources, brought together officials from Samsung Electronics, LG Energy Solution and Hyundai Motor, among others, to discuss the European Union’s Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, known as the CSDDD. The measure is expected to win final approval from the Council of the European Union in the coming months.
The directive, provisionally agreed upon by the European Parliament, would require companies with more than 5,000 employees and annual net turnover exceeding 1.5 billion euros, or about $1.77 billion, to establish formal due diligence systems.
Those systems must identify, prevent and address potential human rights abuses and environmental damage not only within a company’s own operations but also across subsidiaries and supply chains.
Seoul’s downtown area, where major corporate headquarters are clustered. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
The rules are slated to take effect in 2028, beginning with the largest firms.
For export-driven South Korea, whose conglomerates are deeply embedded in global manufacturing networks, the directive could reshape compliance costs and supply chain oversight. Officials at the ministry said they would work with domestic industries to ease potential burdens while stepping up communication with European counterparts as the legislation moves toward implementation.
“The CSDDD could have a direct impact on the business strategies and supply chain management of our exporting companies,” Lee Jae-keun, director general for new trade strategy and policy at the ministry, said at the meeting.
The discussions underscore how sustainability regulation in Brussels is increasingly influencing corporate governance and trade policy far beyond Europe’s borders.
Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)
