Samil PwC, Seoul National University host forum on climate risk

Discussions cover climate data analysis, financial integration and capital market applications

Kwon Mi-yeop, partner at Samil PwC [Samil PwC]
Kwon Mi-yeop, partner at Samil PwC [Samil PwC]

As climate risk emerges as a key variable affecting asset values, operating costs and supply chain stability across corporate management, experts are calling for it to be treated not merely as a disclosure item but as a practical tool for business and investment decisions.

Samil PwC announced Friday that it co-hosted the "Making Climate Risk Decision-Ready" forum with Seoul National University's Climate Tech Center on Thursday at BEXCO in Haeundae-gu, Busan, on the sidelines of the 2026 World Climate Industry Expo.

The forum was designed to help companies and financial institutions share the data, analytical methodologies and financial integration strategies needed to apply climate risk to real investment decisions. About 100 officials from government agencies, public institutions, industry, finance and research organizations attended.

In his opening remarks, Seoul National University Professor Jeong Su-jong said, "Reducing the damage and risks caused by climate change is a challenge that government, business and society must tackle together." He added that he hoped climate disclosure would go beyond simply calculating and reporting figures to serve as "a practical decision-making tool that supports corporate risk management and growth."

Lee Ki-beom, director of the Climate Action Division at the Korea Energy Agency, said in his welcoming address that "climate change is a core risk and a new market factor that determines the survival of companies and the national economy," underscoring the role of sustainability disclosure as a new growth opportunity for businesses.

The keynote presentations focused on precise diagnosis of climate risk and its financial linkages.

Jang Min-hee, team leader at SNU's Climate Tech Center, opened with a presentation titled "The Current State and Challenges of Climate Risk Diagnostic Technology," arguing that applying climate risk to actual decision-making requires analysis that reflects the location, operational characteristics and vulnerabilities of individual facilities and assets. "If extreme climate events are not adequately considered, or if results are aggregated without asset-level assessments, physical risks can be underestimated," she said. She added that improving this requires not only raw climate model data but also a process of downscaling and bias correction that accounts for the spatial characteristics of each site, observational biases and extreme events.

Kang Min-ji, a senior researcher at Samsung Fire's Corporate Safety Research Institute, then presented an approach using the "protection gap" — the difference between potential losses from natural disasters and actual insurance payouts — to assess a company's level of risk exposure and pursue both risk prevention and adaptation investment in tandem.

Kwon Mi-yeop, a partner in Samil PwC's sustainability platform, outlined strategies for integrating climate risk into financial planning. Kwon said companies must examine from multiple angles how supply disruptions of overseas raw materials or key components, simultaneous increases in raw material, cooling and logistics costs, and tightening low-carbon requirements from customers could affect corporate earnings and the recoverability of investments. "To use climate risk in decision-making, companies must specifically examine which assumptions in their current business plans could change due to climate change and at what point existing decisions would need to be revised," she said. "The key is connecting a company's facility, supply chain and financial data with climate information, and embedding that into budgeting, investment review and contract negotiation processes."

The subsequent panel discussion, moderated by Professor Jeong, brought together Kim Tae-hyeong, ESG task force leader at GS Energy; Lee Seung-jun, team leader at SK hynix; Yu Geon-ho, research fellow at Mirae Asset Securities; and Lee Su-won, deputy director of the macro ESG division at Korea Investment Corporation. Panelists discussed the challenges and paths forward for using climate risk information in industrial operations and capital markets.

Wrapping up the discussion, Professor Jeong said, "Climate risk must become not just information for disclosure but the language of decision-making that connects corporate operations, investment and capital market analysis," adding that "building a system that enhances data reliability and allows each stakeholder to interpret and communicate it in ways suited to their own judgment is critical."

Meanwhile, Samil PwC — which closes its books in June — posted sales of 1.11 trillion won ($804 million) and operating profit of 25.4 billion won for fiscal year 2025 (July 2024–June 2025).


an@heraldcorp.com