Hana Financial Group Chairman Ham Young-joo / Courtesy of Hana Financial Group

Hana Financial Group has joined the Impact Disclosure Taskforce, an international environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) drive led by JPMorgan Chase and Natixis Bank, two global financial service powerhouses, the group said Monday

Hana is the first Korean financial entity to join the global ESG initiative to advance the achievement of the United Nations (U.N.) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2030.

Hana will be among many global financial powerhouses that provide guidelines to their peers in developing countries in establishing a platform to accelerate investments with healthier ESG considerations.

The task force is a network of financial institutions, capital markets participants and industry stakeholders. The network is drafting guidance for disclosure and mechanisms to facilitate impact reporting, analysis and financing for effective U.N. SDGs, according to the group.

The task force suggests voluntary guidance for corporate entities, helping them disclose their intentions and progress on achieving incremental impact.

It will share the contributions of participating entities to foster the SDGs and evaluate the outcome.

According to the U.N. Conference on Trade and Development, a U.N. body established to promote the interests of developing countries in world trade, over $4 trillion (5,501 trillion won) is needed a year for developing countries to achieve the U.N. SDGs.

"We will cement our leadership in the global ESG sector with our contribution to the global initiative," a Hana official said. "We will continue to expand ESG collaboration opportunities with our developing economy peers."

Meanwhile, Hana is fortifying ESG drives in a variety of social contribution activities.

It allocated 30 billion won to operate 50 child care centers nationwide, a program launched in 2018 to build a total of 100 day care centers in the country.

Hana is the first among local financial services entities to introduce an around-the-clock childcare program to help tackle Korea's low birth rate.