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Korean Transnational Corporations Watch (KTNC Watch), PUSAKA, SKP-KAMe, and WALHI Papua & POSCO INTERNATIONAL, the National Pension Service (NPS) and the Export-Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM)
Lead NCPKorea, Republic of (South)
Supporting NCP(s)
DescriptionSpecific instance alleging a non-observance of the OECD MNE Guidelines.
Theme(s)General policies, Disclosure, Human rights, Environment
Date19 Dec 2019
Host country(ies)Indonesia
SourceNGO
Industry sectorConstruction, Agriculture, forestry and fishing, Water supply; sewerage, waste management and remediation activities
StatusConcluded
Summary

Read the initial assessment published by the NCP on 9 September 2020: English

Read the Final Statement published by the NCP on 13 January 2022: English

On 19 December 2019, four NGOs, Korean Transnational Corporations Watch (KTNC Watch), PUSAKA, SKP-KAMe, and WALHI Papua, submitted a specific instance to the Korean NCP alleging that POSCO INTERNATIONAL, the National Pension Service (NPS) and the Export-Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM) had not observed the General Policies (Chapter II), Disclosure (Chapter III), Human Rights (Chapter IV) and Environment (Chapter VI) provisions of the OECD Guidelines. The specific instance concerned environmental and social issues related to a Palm Oil plantation located in Indonesia.

On 9 September 2020, the Korean NCP published an initial statement whereby it accepted the case involving POSCO international and the NPS for further examination. The NCP did not accept to include KEXIM in the specific instance as it is a public institution with no discernable commercial nature relating to the specific instance.

The KNCP held three official mediation meetings with the parties however, on 13 January 2022, published a final statement concluding the case after the parties were unable to reach agreement.

The KNCP recommended that POSCO International:

  • establish a consultation channel;
  • explain its efforts to resolve the issues to the Complainant;
  • implement the No Deforestation, No peat, and No Exploitation (NDPE) policy and the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) criteria and ensure that the OECD Guidelines for MNEs, the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for RBC and the Guidance for Responsible Agricultural Supply Chains are considered during the due diligence process;
  • submit a performance report six months after the receipt of this Final Statement.

The KNCP recommended that NPS:

  • establish a consultation channel;
  • ensure that the OECD Guidelines for MNEs, the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Business Conduct, the Responsible Business Conduct for Institutional Investors and others are considered during the due diligence process;
  • submit a performance report six months after the receipt of this Final Statement.

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