KT&G becomes First Player in the Industry to Secure 'AAA' MSCI ESG Rating

- Reaffirms top position in the industry for 5 consecutive years,
governance structure competitiveness, systematic supply chain management highly rated

SEOUL, South Korea, Dec. 10, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- KT&G(KRX: 033780) obtained a "AAA" ESG rating from the global investment decision support company MSCI(Morgan Stanley Capital International), the highest rating in history for any industry player.

Every year, MSCI classifies 8,500 publicly listed companies by industry and evaluates ESG status, issuing 7 types of ratings from top AAA rating to bottom CCC ratings. Institutional investors and asset managers refer to MSCI's ratings in order to analyze a company's sustainability and ESG competitiveness.

KT&G was evaluated by MSCI among 9 global tobacco companies across the world and secured its ESG Leader position within the industry by receiving the top-tier rating "AAA". Previously, KT&G's industry top-tier ESG competitive was acknowledged through the award of a "AA" rating for four consecutive years.

The key elements that contributed to the top rating this year include excellent governance structure, systematic supply chain management, responsible marketing execution, and faithful implementation of environmental management visions.

The fact that KT&G established exemplary governance structure conventions through actions such as separating CEO and board chairperson roles based on competitiveness coming from 75% outside director board composition and operating independent permanent and non-permanent committees was given special recognition.

Furthermore, KT&G was ranked number one among 9 companies for "supply chain labor management" category due to its systematic diligence activities and management and monitoring execution. It was also given a higher score relative to other industry players for its actions including expansion of on-site water reclamation infrastructure and execution of responsible marketing.

Young-ah Shim, Director of KT&G's ESG Management Office, stated that "by obtaining a AAA rating for the first time in the industry, KT&G will now be recognized for its systematic ESG management performance in the capital market. Going forward, KT&G will continue to focus on realization of environmental management principles and active supply chain management based on its global standard governance competitiveness."

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