South Korea is taking a significant step toward achieving its carbon neutrality goals by announcing plans to train 200 specialists in green finance within the year.
According to ChosunBiz, the initiative, launched through a formal agreement between the Financial Services Commission and the Ministry of Environment, aims to bolster the country’s capacity for eco-friendly investment and enhance the integrity of climate-related financial practices.
The business agreement was signed at the Bank Hall in Jung-gu, Seoul, with participation from the Financial Supervisory Service, Korea Environmental Industry Technology Institute, and Korea Financial Investment Association. The move is part of a broader strategy to expand the country’s green finance capabilities through the development of skilled professionals who can oversee and implement sustainable lending practices.
Under the new plan, the involved organisations will create and run educational programmes tailored to green finance. These programmes will provide the technical training needed to assess whether loans and investments align with environmentally sustainable activities, based on the ‘Guidelines for Managing Green Credit’ introduced in December last year. These guidelines define green credit as loans that comply with the green classification system and meet rigorous internal controls.
The specialists will play a vital role in ensuring that the allocation of green loans genuinely supports environmental goals and is not misused for projects that do not meet sustainability criteria. This will also serve as a defence against the rising risk of greenwashing—where organisations misleadingly portray their activities as environmentally friendly.
To facilitate the implementation of this initiative, the participating agencies will build a collaborative framework for sharing educational resources and infrastructure. This shared effort is designed to accelerate the adoption of green financial practices across the Korean financial sector.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Minister of Environment Kim Wan-seop said, “To ensure the credibility of green finance, it is essential to secure talent with expertise in both environmental and financial fields.” Financial Services Commission chairperson Kim Byeong-hwan added, “This agreement provides an opportunity for the financial sector’s climate finance capabilities to leap to the next level.”
Lee Bok-hyeon, head of the Financial Supervisory Service, was also in attendance at the ceremony, which marked a pivotal moment in Korea’s environmental finance policy.
Keep up with all the latest FinTech news here
Copyright © 2025 FinTech Global
