Korea Zinc wins Korean Management Award for environmental practices 2 years running

Korea Zinc has won the environmental management category of the Korean Management Award for the second consecutive year, in recognition of its workplace environmental management and ecosystem conservation efforts.

The company announced Wednesday that it had been selected as a winner in the corporate and institutional division — environmental management category — of the 2026 Korean Management Award.

The Korean Management Award is hosted by IPS and sponsored by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Ministry of Climate, Environment and Energy, and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, among others.

The environmental management category evaluates companies comprehensively on their eco-friendly strategies and management systems, regulatory compliance and employee participation. CEO leadership and community engagement activities are also assessed.

Korea Zinc operates an environmental management system centered on its Onsan Smelter while pursuing "Troika Drive," a new business strategy built around renewable energy and green hydrogen, resource recycling, and secondary battery materials. Of these, renewable energy and resource recycling serve as the main pillars of its medium- to long-term eco-friendly business strategy.

The company has also expanded its local ecosystem conservation activities. This year, it joined a project to restore endangered insect species and is carrying out a marine forest creation project along the Ulsan coast, where the Onsan Smelter is located.

Employees have also taken part in environmental volunteer activities, including wildfire recovery efforts, beach cleanup campaigns, and making bags from recycled and upcycled materials. The Onsan Smelter received the top rating in the government's Community Contribution Recognition Program for three consecutive years from 2023 through last year.

"Winning the Korean Management Award two years in a row is a result achieved together by all our employees, who have worked to reduce environmental impact across our operations by treating the environment as a core corporate value," a Korea Zinc official said. "Going forward, we will consistently expand our eco-friendly businesses and resource recycling initiatives, while continuing our efforts to preserve the environment and ecosystems at our worksites and in local communities, contributing to a sustainable future."

Meanwhile, Korea Zinc is also pursuing the construction of a large-scale smelter in the United States. Its roughly $7.4 billion "Project Crucible" in Tennessee recently received a Finding of No Significant Impact, or FONSI, from the US government's final environmental impact assessment. The project involves building a facility to produce non-ferrous metals — including 11 critical minerals — as well as sulfuric acid for semiconductor manufacturing.