Climate Policy Engagement Overview: Hyundai Steel appears to have limited but mixed engagement with climate change regulations in South Korea. The company has expressed top-line support for climate action, and has expressed broad support for South Korea’s 2030 GHG emissions reduction target and the 2050 carbon neutrality target. However, Hyundai Steel has taken a negative position to the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (EU CBAM).

Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: Hyundai Steel has taken positive positions in its top-line messaging on climate policy in South Korea. In its 2021 Integrated Report published in June 2021, Hyundai Steel stated support for the steel industry’s joint declaration on carbon neutrality by 2050. In December 2021, Hyundai Steel appeared to support government policy for net-zero emissions at a meeting with the Ministry of Science and ICT (MoSIT), asking for governmental support for R&D of technological innovation in the steel sector. However, its position on the need for other forms of climate change regulation was not clear.

Engagement with Climate-Related Regulations: Hyundai Steel has limited engagement with specific climate regulations. The company has stated high-level compliance to South Korea’s raised 2030 GHG emissions reduction target, but it opposed the EU CBAM. In June 2021, Hyundai Steel presented broad support for the Korean Emissions Trading Scheme (K-ETS) to reduce GHG emissions by 2030 in its 2021 Integrated Report. In the same report, the company stated that it would support several climate policies of South Korea, such as the 2050 Carbon Neutrality Scenario, the 2030 GHG emissions reduction target, and the 2050 Long-term low greenhouse gas Emission Development Strategy. However, it was reported by Aju News in July 2021 that Hyundai Steel opposed the EU CBAM, advocating for the exclusion of South Korean companies from the policy. In its response to the 2021 CDP Climate Change Information Request, Hyundai Steel did not disclose its positions on any climate policies.

Positioning on Energy Transition: Hyundai Steel has taken a mixed position on the transition to a low-carbon energy mix in the steel sector. In December 2021, Hyundai Steel stated its support for developing innovative technologies to achieve net-zero emissions at a meeting with the MoSIT. As reported by Steel & Metal News in March 2022, Hyundai Steel supported decarbonization in the steelmaking process, citing the need for investments and government-led policy that would reduce the transition burden for the steel industry. According to Steel & Metal News in October 2021, Hyundai Steel appeared to support the expanded use of hydrogen in generating electricity and power for hydrogen vehicles, but did not clarify the need for decarbonizing hydrogen production.

Industry Association Governance: Hyundai Steel has not provided a full transparent disclosure on its membership to industry associations and its indirect climate policy engagements in its corporate website. In its2021 CDP Climate Change response, Hyundai Steel provided high-level information of Korea Iron and Steel Association (KOSA) membership, but did not give a detailed description of its alignment with KOSA on climate policy issues. KOSA has demonstrated highly negative climate policy engagement. The CEO of Hyundai Steel is the Part-time Vice President of KOSA. The Executive Director of Hyundai Steel is a member of the Environment & Climate Committee of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), which has engaged highly negatively with climate regulation in South Korea.