Financing Korea’s green and industrial transformation: Insights from KEXIM
The Export-Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM) is Korea’s official export credit agency, supporting Korean companies and strategic industries while contributing to the country’s transition towards a more sustainable and low-carbon economy.
In July 2026, KEXIM returned to the Luxembourg Stock Exchange with a new green bond, following the update of its Sustainable Finance Framework to broaden the range of activities eligible for sustainable financing, including Green Enabling projects.
We spoke with Jessica Gu, Director General of Treasury Department at KEXIM, to explore the evolution of KEXIM sustainable finance strategy, the role of Green Enabling activities in supporting Korea industrial transformation, and the institution approach to sustainable finance and international investors.
KEXIM has been active in the sustainable bond market for more than a decade. What drove the decision to update KEXIM Sustainable Finance Framework at this stage?
KEXIM has been committed to the global sustainable bond market since issuing the Asia's first green bond in 2013. As KEXIM’s policy role has grown, the updated Sustainable Finance Framework expands our support to emerging sectors like AI, digital infrastructure, and clean energy. Furthermore, it timely incorporates the recent global trend under ICMA to expand the scope of eligible green projects..
This expansion reflects our role as an export credit agency supporting Korea's industrial transformation and global decarbonisation, not just a simple widening of criteria. Through this update, KEXIM aims to support a broader range of projects that contribute to both Korea’s strategic priorities and the global sustainable finance agenda.
The updated framework expands the eligible use of proceeds to include Green Enabling activities. Why was it important to broaden the scope in this way, and what types of projects do you expect it to support?
The inclusion of Green Enabling activities represents KEXIM’s recognition of the importance of supporting critical sectors and technologies that enable wider decarbonisation and industrial transformation. Green Enabling Projects are not explicitly green, but they are vital parts of the green supply chain such as funding lithium mines for EV batteries. These are activities that support the supply chain of low-carbon projects, rather than being low-carbon themselves. Examples of Green Enabling Projects include funding lithium mines for EV batteries or manufacturing electrolysers for hydrogen production.
We believe these projects can play an important role in helping the Korean economy transition toward a low-carbon economy in line with the Paris Agreement.
How does the updated framework help KEXIM advance Korea’s strategic priorities while strengthening its appeal to international investors?
This update reflects KEXIM’s broader policy role in supporting Korea’s structural transformation while continuing to strengthen our ESG credentials. Along with this update, we have also received continued external recognition of our ESG efforts, including an improvement in our MSCI ESG rating by two notches recently.
For investors, this means three things – Firstly, It creates a broader and more diversified pipeline of sustainable assets, providing a greater flexibility and supporting our long-term ESG issuance programme. Secondly, the framework remains fully aligned with international market standards and the local K-Taxonomy, and it has also been independently validated by Moody’s to reinforce investor confidence. Finally, this update is a natural evolution of KEXIM’s long-term commitment to Korea's strategic priorities and global sustainability backed by 12 years of experience.
In short, this expanded framework enables KEXIM to finance a broader range of future-oriented projects while maintaining the high level of transparency, credibility and market standards that investors have come to expect.
KEXIM has once again chosen Luxembourg for its latest green bond issuance. What makes Luxembourg-and the Luxembourg Green Exchange in particular – the right platform for reaching international investors?
The Luxembourg Stock Exchange has long been recognised as the global leader in sustainable finance, known for its rigorous transparency standards and its commitment to supporting ESG-focused issuance. By listing on the Exchange and displaying it on the Luxembourg Green Exchange (LGX), we aim to gain strong visibility among global investors looking for high quality ESG assets.
This transaction showcases our ESG evolution through our updated framework and green enabling activities, and we believe LGX is the ideal platform to maximise its visibility and impact among global ESG investors.
Looking ahead, what are the next priorities for KEXIM’s sustainable finance programme?
As a leader and pioneer in ESG management, KEXIM has consistently integrated ESG principles into its operations and established a long-term ESG roadmap.
By 2030, KEXIM aims to provide KRW 220 trillion (approximately USD 150 billion) in supporting for ESG-related sectors and issue up to USD 20billion in ESG bonds.
Going forward, KEXIM will continue to leverage the expanded framework to support Korea’s transition toward a green economy, focusing on future industries and clean energy.
As Korea’s official export credit agency, KEXIM’s sustainable finance strategy goes beyond individual green projects. We aim to support Korean companies throughout their transition journey to help them participate in global sustainable value chains.
KEXIM’s priority is not only to expand the volume of ESG bond issuance, but also to strengthen its impact by supporting industries and technologies that are critical to the global transition.