April 9, Seoul — The Asian Forest Cooperation Organization (AFoCO), together with Kim & Chang and partners of the Friends of Asia and Asian Forests (FAAF), successfully convened the 2026 Spring FAAF on 9 April 2026 at the Kim & Chang Centerpoint Gwanghwamun Building in Seoul. Held under the theme “Corporate Strategies in Response to Nature-related Disclosure,” the event provided a timely platform for dialogue on the rapidly evolving global landscape of nature-related disclosure and practical approaches for corporate engagement in restoration and sustainability action. The program featured opening remarks, a keynote lecture, thematic presentations, and an open discussion session.
The event brought together participants from the public and private sectors, including representatives from CJ CheilJedang, Hana Financial Group, HD Hyundai Electric, IBK Industrial Bank of Korea, KT, KT&G, Pulmuone, Samyang Foods, SK Discovery, SK Forests, SK Hynix, SK Securities, and Yuhan-Kimberly, along with experts and partner organizations working at the intersection of forests, biodiversity, and ESG.
The event served as a platform to highlight the public and economic value of forests while strengthening international understanding and cooperation. Discussions emphasized that forests are not only vital ecological assets but also key drivers of sustainable growth, job creation, local livelihoods, climate action, and community resilience.
KEYNOTE LECTURE
A keynote lecture was delivered by Dr. Ho Yoo, Director General of the National Institute of Biological Resources (NIBR), on global disclosure trends and corporate response strategies. NIBR serves as the country’s central authority on biodiversity data and natural capital policy, making it a natural keynote voice at Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD)-related convenings. NIBR co-leads the Natural Capital Disclosure Support Coalition together with the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry to accelerate the uptake of TNFD-aligned disclosure in Korea. In this role, NIBR has directly supported the preparation of pilot nature-related financial disclosure reports by major Korean firms, and is currently developing a natural capital data platform to provide companies with the species, ecosystem, and location-based datasets required for credible TNFD reporting. As both a national data custodian and the public-sector anchor of Korea’s corporate disclosure infrastructure, NIBR is uniquely positioned to frame how TNFD can move from an international framework to domestic implementation.
In this session, Dr. Ho Yoo explained how corporate sustainability has evolved from traditional CSR to ESG and is now expanding into nature-related disclosure, with the TNFD emerging as a major framework. She noted that nature-related risks are increasingly seen as financially material and that companies need to begin preparing early by strengthening internal data, governance, and disclosure systems. She also introduced recent domestic and international developments, including the growing alignment of disclosure frameworks and the increasing support being provided to Korean companies to strengthen their readiness.
THEMATIC PRESENTATION I by AFoCO
In the first thematic presentation, Mr. Sunpil Jin, Vice Executive Director of AFoCO, delivered an FAAF update on global trends and opportunities. His presentation reviewed major trends in the carbon market, including new compliance demand, long-term contracting trends, and rising interest in high-integrity credits. He also introduced recent discussions around biodiversity credits and Article 6 cooperation under the Paris Agreement, while presenting AFoCO’s growing portfolio of restoration and carbon-related initiatives in Kyrgyzstan, Cambodia, Mongolia, Lao PDR, and Myanmar. The presentation further highlighted AFoCO’s collaboration with international partners and its recent accreditation by the Green Climate Fund (GCF), which expands opportunities for future climate and nature-related cooperation.
THEMATIC PRESENTATION II by Kim & Chang
The second thematic presentation was given by Mr. Oksu Lee, Head of the Sustainability and Climate Center at Kim & Chang, on approaches to sustainability disclosure based on overseas nature restoration projects. He introduced an overseas nature restoration project jointly developed by AFoCO and Kim & Chang, illustrating how the project provides companies with practical means to respond to disclosure expectations while also generating measurable sustainability outcomes. His presentation showed how restoration initiatives can support companies in moving beyond high-level ESG commitments toward more concrete, evidence-based implementation, while also contributing to disclosure, risk management, and stakeholder communication.
OPEN DISCUSSION
The open discussion session was chaired by Mr. Kook-Hyun Moon, who guided an active exchange on how companies can respond more strategically to nature-related disclosure and translate such requirements into action. Participating companies showed strong interest in the project jointly developed by AFoCO and Kim & Chang, viewing it as a practical and credible entry point for exploring overseas nature restoration cooperation. The discussion also reflected interest in how AFoCO’s field-based project network in Asia could be linked with corporate sustainability needs, including biodiversity action, ESG disclosure, and longer-term nature-positive strategies.
The event concluded with closing remarks from Mr. Byeong Am Choi, Senior Advisor at Kim & Chang and former Minister of the Korea Forest Service, and Dr. Chongho Park, Executive Director of AFoCO. They emphasized that nature-related disclosure is becoming an increasingly important part of corporate management and that stronger partnerships between public institutions, expert organizations, and the private sector will be essential to expand practical and credible restoration action in Asia.
Through the 2026 Spring FAAF, AFoCO reaffirmed the role of FAAF as a practical platform for connecting policy, business, and on-the-ground restoration opportunities. By linking global disclosure trends with concrete pathways for corporate participation, the event offered timely insights for companies seeking to strengthen their response to biodiversity, natural capital, and evolving ESG expectations.
Contributed by Dr. Hannah Suh (Program Officer) and Mr. Hyungmin Kim (Program Officer)