East Asia · public research route

South Korea

South Korea is organized here as a East Asia research route covering 7 public-policy areas. The route begins with Coal, Platform Monopoly (Naver & Kakao), Tobacco (KT&G).

Executive summary

This page is a structured research guide to institutions, public frameworks, and possible lines of inquiry in South Korea. It supports rapid orientation and identifies where current primary-source verification is required.

Research-use notice. This material is for research and educational use. Information may be incomplete or out of date. Verify primary sources, current law, institutional authority, source dates, and local applicability before acting. This site does not provide legal, financial, investment, regulatory, or implementation advice.

Coal

Insider / Whistleblower

  • Report to Ministry of Environment (환경부)
  • Document through KFEM (Korean Federation for Environmental Movements, 환경운동연합)
  • Report through KEPCO compliance channels

Ministry of Environment (환경부) — environmental authority. KFEM (환경운동연합) — South Korea's largest environmental NGO. Solutions for Our Climate (기후솔루션) — climate policy advocacy organization.

Investor / Capital Allocator

  • KEPCO (Korea Electric Power Corporation, 한국전력공사): Implement coal retirement schedule aligned with NDC
  • POSCO: Scale hydrogen-based steelmaking (HyREX)
  • Samsung, SK, Hyundai: Expand renewable electricity procurement (RE100 commitments)

KEPCO — state electricity company (subsidiary gencos operate coal plants). POSCO — steelmaker, major coal consumer. Samsung, SK Group, Hyundai — major conglomerates with growing RE100 commitments.

Regulator / Agency

  • MOTIE (Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, 산업통상자원부): Accelerate coal retirement in Basic Electricity Plan
  • Ministry of Environment: Strengthen K-ETS carbon price floor
  • KPX (Korea Power Exchange): Reform merit order to disadvantage coal

MOTIE — energy and industry ministry. K-ETS — Korea Emissions Trading Scheme (launched 2015, covers ~70% of national emissions). KPX (한국전력거래소) — electricity market operator.

Policymakers / Treaty Forum

  • Contact your 국회의원 (Member of the National Assembly, 300 members) to demand coal phase-out timeline in energy legislation
  • Support Powering Past Coal Alliance membership
  • Advocate through OECD for coal finance phase-out
  • Push for G20 commitment to end international coal financing (South Korea pledged to end overseas coal finance in 2021)

국회 (National Assembly) — unicameral, 300 members. Contact through assembly.go.kr. South Korea is a presidential republic with competitive elections. G20 member, OECD member, Powering Past Coal Alliance member (joined 2021).

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Platform Monopoly (Naver & Kakao)

Insider / Whistleblower

  • Document algorithm changes that demote third-party sellers below in-house Smart Store or Kakao listings
  • Preserve internal commission-setting and ranking memos and disclose them to the KFTC's case teams

Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) reporting channels; Public Interest Whistleblower Protection Act administered by the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission

Investor / Capital Allocator

  • Use National Pension Service voting power in Naver and Kakao to demand merchant-fairness and antitrust-risk disclosure
  • File shareholder proposals tying executive pay to resolution of KFTC abuse-of-dominance findings

National Pension Service (NPS) Stewardship Code; Korea Exchange (KRX) listing disclosure rules

Regulator / Agency

  • Designate dominant gatekeeper platforms and impose self-preferencing and interoperability obligations
  • Order refunds and structural remedies where search or app-store ranking is manipulated

Korea Fair Trade Commission under the Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act; Korea Communications Commission

Policymakers / Treaty Forum

  • Apply OECD competition-committee peer review of Korea's platform rules
  • Coordinate gatekeeper definitions with the EU Digital Markets Act framework to deter forum-shopping

OECD Competition Committee; OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework on digital markets

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Tobacco (KT&G)

Insider / Whistleblower

  • Expose marketing of heated-tobacco and flavored products to youth and emerging adults
  • Report lobbying contacts with health and finance officials that breach WHO FCTC Article 5.3 firewalls

Ministry of Health and Welfare; Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission whistleblower protection

Investor / Capital Allocator

  • Adopt a tobacco exclusion in the National Pension Service responsible-investment policy and divest KT&G
  • Press Industrial Bank of Korea to publish a timeline for exiting its KT&G stake

National Pension Service Responsible Investment guidelines; Industrial Bank of Korea governance

Regulator / Agency

  • Increase the tobacco consumption tax and health-promotion levy
  • Mandate plain packaging and prohibit indirect heated-tobacco advertising

Ministry of Health and Welfare; Ministry of Economy and Finance; National Health Insurance Service

Policymakers / Treaty Forum

  • Hold Korea to WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control reporting and Article 5.3 conflict-of-interest standards
  • Adopt MPOWER tax and packaging benchmarks through WHO review

World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (Korea is a Party)

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Shipping & Maritime (shipbuilding & flag fleet)

Insider / Whistleblower

  • Report falsified emissions, scrubber-discharge or ballast-water compliance records on Korean-built or Korean-flag vessels
  • Disclose yard practices that evade green-design or ship-recycling standards

Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries; Korea Maritime Transportation Safety Authority

Investor / Capital Allocator

  • Condition Korea Development Bank and Korea Eximbank vessel financing on IMO carbon-intensity and recycling criteria
  • Use NPS holdings in HD Hyundai and Hanwha Ocean to require decarbonization roadmaps

Korea Development Bank; Export-Import Bank of Korea; National Pension Service stewardship

Regulator / Agency

  • Implement IMO MARPOL and the net-zero framework in domestic law and enforce port-state control at Busan and Ulsan
  • Require shore-power connection and designate coastal emission-control areas

Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries; Korea Maritime Transportation Safety Authority (port-state control)

Policymakers / Treaty Forum

  • Vote for the IMO greenhouse-gas levy and 2050 net-zero strategy and the Hong Kong ship-recycling convention
  • Coordinate green-corridor pilots with major trading partners

International Maritime Organization (MARPOL, net-zero framework, Hong Kong Convention)

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Gambling (Kangwon Land & illegal online betting)

Insider / Whistleblower

  • Report VIP-room practices or marketing that target self-excluded or high-loss patrons
  • Expose payment processors and platforms knowingly servicing illegal overseas gambling sites

National Gambling Control Commission; National Police Agency cyber unit

Investor / Capital Allocator

  • Use National Pension Service and other institutional stakes in Kangwon Land to require harm-reduction KPIs
  • Press for board-level reporting on problem-gambling prevalence and self-exclusion uptake

National Pension Service stewardship; Korea Exchange disclosure rules

Regulator / Agency

  • Mandate a national self-exclusion registry and deposit-and-loss limits
  • Coordinate payment blocking and prosecution of illegal online operators

National Gambling Control Commission; Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism; Financial Services Commission (payment blocking)

Policymakers / Treaty Forum

  • Use Interpol cooperation to pursue cross-border illegal gambling and money-laundering networks
  • Apply FATF anti-money-laundering standards to casino and online betting flows

Interpol; Financial Action Task Force (FATF)

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Plastics (petrochemicals)

Insider / Whistleblower

  • Report mislabeled 'recycling' that is actually incineration or export of contaminated waste
  • Disclose producers under-reporting packaging volumes to lower EPR fees

Ministry of Environment; Korea Environment Corporation (KECO)

Investor / Capital Allocator

  • Require LG Chem and Lotte Chemical to disclose virgin-resin exposure and recycled-content roadmaps
  • Steer NPS capital toward chemical recycling and reuse systems with verified mass-balance accounting

National Pension Service stewardship; Korea Exchange ESG disclosure framework

Regulator / Agency

  • Set rising recycled-content targets for PET bottles and packaging and audit EPR compliance
  • Reclassify incineration so it no longer qualifies as recycling

Ministry of Environment under the Act on the Promotion of Saving and Recycling of Resources; Korea Environment Corporation

Policymakers / Treaty Forum

  • Support a strong UN Global Plastics Treaty with production-reduction and design obligations
  • Apply Basel Convention controls on contaminated plastic-waste exports

UN Environment Programme Global Plastics Treaty process; Basel Convention

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Ultra-Processed Food

Insider / Whistleblower

  • Report misleading 'healthy' or low-sodium claims contradicted by internal formulation data
  • Disclose targeted child-directed marketing that breaches advertising codes

Ministry of Food and Drug Safety; Korea Consumer Agency

Investor / Capital Allocator

  • Press listed food and convenience-store groups to set reformulation and nutrition-profile targets
  • Use NPS stewardship to require disclosure of sales mix by nutrient profile

National Pension Service stewardship; Korea Exchange disclosure rules

Regulator / Agency

  • Introduce front-of-pack warning labels and binding sodium and sugar reduction targets
  • Levy high-sugar drinks and ring-fence revenue for prevention

Ministry of Food and Drug Safety; Ministry of Health and Welfare; National Health Insurance Service

Policymakers / Treaty Forum

  • Adopt WHO sodium-reduction and nutrient-profile benchmarks and front-of-pack labeling guidance
  • Use Codex Alimentarius standards to align labeling and reformulation rules

World Health Organization; Codex Alimentarius Commission (FAO/WHO)

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Research references

Use the public glossary for terminology and the selected publications and working papers for public evidence and methods.