Mirae Asset Life Insurance goes green with ESG moves

Mirae Asset Life Insurance is moving to prioritize ESG (environmental, social, and governance) management activities, most recently on Oct. 15, when around thirty volunteers consisting of Mirae Asset Life Insurance staff and executives took part...

Mirae Asset Life Insurance’s new office in Yeouido, western Seoul [MIRAE ASSET LIFE INSURANCE]

Mirae Asset Life Insurance is moving to prioritize ESG (environmental, social, and governance) management activities, most recently on Oct. 15, when around thirty volunteers consisting of Mirae Asset Life Insurance staff and executives took part in the “2024 Ichon Hangang Park Forestation Volunteering with Mirae Asset Life Insurance” — an effort to reduce air pollution and add a bit of nature to a bustling city.

In 2019, Mirae Asset Life Insurance signed a memorandum of understanding with the nonprofit environmental group Seoul Green Trust and Seoul city’s Han River Park Division. Under the agreement, the insurance company developed the “Han River Forest” in the Ichon Hangang Park spanning 3,000 square meters (32,300 square feet), with employees volunteering to maintain it each year.

The insurance company's commitment to ESG management extends to social causes via its investment portfolio, taking on responsibility for the development of eco-friendly infrastructure. It has expanded its investments in renewable energy, lessening its reliance on fossil fuels while striving to spread climate change awareness in the industry.

In addition to its “passive strategy” of investing in firms with high ESG ratings, Mirae Asset Life Insurance is taking an “active strategy” in which it invests in firms that show significant potential to improve ESG.

Customers investing in Mirae Asset Life Insurance’s variable insurance can also contribute to its ESG efforts. The “Better Future Mirae Global ESG Stock Fund” is a foreign investment variable stock fund that invests in firms with the potential for sustainable growth and a positive influence on society.

Such potential is assessed not based on financial factors but by reviewing stances and actions related to the environment, human rights, corporate culture and investor relations. According to the Korea Life Insurance Association, the fund posted an annual earnings rate of 21.8 percent as of Oct. 14.

“Mirae Asset Life Insurance will continue to expand our investments in ESG, in a hope to vitalize eco-friendly finance” Head of the Management Innovation Department Bae Su-dong stated

"Social investments like ESG investment activities are the driving force for the financial support needed for sustainable growth. They will contribute to the spread of more eco-friendly infrastructure and business environments. We want to use the profits from the growing eco-friendly business to create a sustainable cycle of virtue,” he explained.

BY KIM YEONSOO [kim.yeonsoo1@joongang.co.kr]