Korea Real Estate Board holds ESG finance briefing for financial institutions

The Korea Real Estate Board held an "ESG Financial Support Service Briefing for Financial Institutions" Friday at the Korea Federation of Banks building, gathering partner financial institutions including Kyongnam Bank, Korea Technology Finance Corporation, Nonghyup Bank, Industrial Bank of Korea and Hana Bank.

The briefing was organized to support the launch of ESG financial products using a building energy database and to strengthen ongoing cooperation with financial institutions.

The building energy database was established under Article 10 of the Green Buildings Construction Support Act and integrates building information with energy consumption data from energy supply agencies. Financial products based on the database offer benefits such as preferential interest rates when a building reduces its greenhouse gas emissions or energy consumption.

At the event, the Korea Real Estate Board introduced an overview of the building energy database, the current status of financial products developed using it, and its ESG financial support services, then held additional discussions on how the database can be applied in the financial sector.

Meanwhile, the Korea Real Estate Board has signed MOUs on ESG financial support with Shinhan Bank in September 2023, the Korea Credit Guarantee Fund in December 2023, SC First Bank in September 2024 and iM Bank in August, and has been supporting the launch of various private-sector financial products using the building energy database.

Lee Jeong-hwan, head of the Korea Real Estate Board's industry support division, said he hopes the briefing will serve as an opportunity to further strengthen cooperation with financial institutions. "We will continue to support the launch of ESG financial products to encourage voluntary carbon neutrality efforts in the private sector," he added.