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Korea Development Bank (KDB)South Korea

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KDB Head office, Seoul Korea. Photo: courtesy of Businesskorea.co.kr

Active

This profile is actively maintained
Last update: 2025-04-24 16:10:31
About
Website https://www.kdb.co.kr/ih/simpleJsp.do
Headquarters
14 Eunhaeng-ro, Yeongdeungpo-gu
07242 Seoul
South Korea
CEO/chair Kang, Seog Hoon
CEO
Supervisor
Financial Supervisory Service (South Korea)
Ownership

The Korea Development Bank is wholly owned by the Korean government.

The Korea Development Bank (KDB) is South Korea's state-owned development bank, and was founded in 1954 to help develop Korean industries and the country's economy. The bank's products and services include corporate loans, equity investments, public/corporate bonds and debt and payment guarantees. The bank is heavily involved in the Asia-Pacific project finance market. KDB adopted the Equator Principles in 2017.

Sustainability
Commitments
Policies
Voluntary standards

KDB's most important sustainability commitments can be found at the website sections listed below.
 

Links

Sustainability

[go to Investor Relations/Sustainability].

KDB excludes finance for new coal power plants (see KDB website/Investor relations/Sustainability/Guidelines for coal financing).

Environmental and Social Guidance for Project Finance

Bank policy
2016-10-04 00:00:00 | Korea Development Bank
Korea Development Bank (KDB) has committed itself to the following voluntary standards:
Equator PrinciplesTags: Equator Principles | project finance | corporate social responsibility | sustainable development
United Nations Global CompactTags: United Nations | human rights
Wolfsberg PrinciplesTags: finance | corruption
Dodgy Deals

Korea Development Bank (KDB) is linked to a number of companies and projects that BankTrack considers controversial (so called Dodgy Deals), e.g. as a current or past financier or through an expression of interest. The profiles below provide more details on the nature of Korea Development Bank (KDB)'s link to these deals.

Projects / Companies
Finance type
Year
News
BankTrack
Partners
Blog
External
Blog
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Gulf Coast residents and major organizations call on financial institutions to phase out financing of LNG projects in the Rio Grande Valley

“We will hold any financial institutions that choose to support these projects accountable for such impacts.”
2024-07-22 | New York City | Sierra Club
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

South Korean banks boost exposure to coal

Policy banks expand coal power funding despite ESG emphasis
2023-09-19 | The Korea Times
Blog
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Global banks commit to net-zero, but bankroll carbon bomb in Australia 

New research finds that nine banks provided billions of dollars to build key infrastructure for the Barossa gas project. Campaigners say divest now.  
2023-04-19 | Environment Centre NT, Japan Center for Sustainable Environment and Society (JACSES), Jubilee Australia Research Centre, Reclaim Finance, Solutions for Our Climate, Urgewald
Blog
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

At least $132 billion in finance for fossil fuels is locking Africa out of a Just Transition, shows new report

African countries kept in fossil fuel stranglehold by Overseas money
2022-03-03 | BankTrack, 350.org Africa, AFIEGO, Africa Coal Network, Alerte Congolaise pour l’Environnement et les Droits de l’Homme (ACEDH), Alliance for Empowering Rural Communities (AERC), Centre for Alternative Development (CAD), Environment Governance Institute (EGI), Friends of the Earth Ghana, Friends of the Earth Mozambique, Friends of the Earth Togo, Innovation for the Development and Protection of the Environment (IDPE), Laudato Si, Lumière Synergie pour le Développement (LSD), Milieudefensie, Oil Change International, Save Okavango (SOUL), Solidarité pour la Réflexion et Appui au Développement Communautaire (SORADEC), Synergie de Jeunes pour le Développement et les Droits Humains (SJDDH), Women Environmental Programme Nigeria, WoMin, Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association (ZELA)
Blog
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Repeat offenders NAB, ANZ and Westpac bankrolling “bet against the Paris Agreement”

NAB, ANZ and Westpac are among 18 global banks that have loaned to a gas processing facility that paves the way for a carbon bomb at the scale of 15 coal power stations.
2022-01-20 | Market Forces
Blog
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

A future without coal: banking on Asia's just energy transition

2021-11-10 | Fair Finance Asia
Blog
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Equator Banks involved in financing at least 200 fossil fuel projects since Paris

BankTrack research sheds new light on finance for fossil fuels by Equator banks
2021-10-26 | BankTrack
Blog
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Equator Banks fail communities on consultation and grievance mechanisms, new study finds

BankTrack research into nine projects financed ‘under Equator’ finds routine failures to conduct proper community consultation and a lack of effective project-level grievance mechanisms
2020-11-24 | Nijmegen | BankTrack
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Financial close on Indonesia Java 9 & 10

2020-11-13 | IJGlobal
Blog
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

New BankTrack Equator Principles reporting tracking tool launched

2020-09-21 | BankTrack
Blog
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Equator Principles requirements missing for most projects, finds new BankTrack study

Research into 37 projects financed 'under Equator' finds project-level grievance mechanisms or stakeholder engagement processes cannot be evidenced in 65% of cases
2020-08-11 | BankTrack
Blog
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Trans Adriatic Pipeline: France provides massive financial support to controversial gas project

2019-01-17 | Paris, France | Les Amis de la Terre
Blog
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Korea Development Bank rules out financing the Adani Carmichael coal mine and infrastructure

2018-11-05
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Korea Development Bank: The First Korean Bank to Adopt the Equator Principles

2017-01-02 | Seoul | The Equator Principles Association
Resources
Documents

Annual report 2023

Annual report
2024-06-30 00:00:00 | KDB

Total turmoil: unveiling South Korea's stake in Mozambique's climate and humanitarian crisis

NGO document
2024-01-29 00:00:00 | Solutions for Our Climate (SFOC)

Annual report 2022

Annual report
2023-06-23 00:00:00 | KDB

Betting on a Sinking Ship

Banks Behind the Barossa Gas Field’s FPSO Vessel
NGO document
2023-04-18 00:00:00 | Solutions for our Climate (SFO°C), JACSES, Jubilee Australia, Environment Centre NT, Urgewald, Reclaim Finance

Annual report 2021

Annual report
2022-06-05 00:00:00 | KDB

Annual report 2020

Annual report
2021-09-06 00:00:00 | KDB

Equator Principles 2020 report

Other bank document
2021-09-06 00:00:00 | KDB

"Trust Us, We're Equator Banks": Part II

BankTrack publication
2020-11-24 00:00:00 | BankTrack

Annual report 2019

Annual report
2020-09-17 00:00:00 | KDB

Annual integrated report 2018

Annual report
2019-07-31 00:00:00 | Korea Development Bank

Annual integrated report 2017

Annual report
2018-03-31 00:00:00 | Korea Development Bank

Annual integrated report 2016

Annual report
2017-03-31 00:00:00 | Korea Development Bank

Environmental and Social Guidance for Project Finance

Bank policy
2016-10-04 00:00:00 | Korea Development Bank

KDB Resolution plan 2014

Other bank document
2014-05-01 00:00:00 | KDB
Accountability
Grievances

Korea Development Bank does not have a complaints or grievances mechanism for individuals or communities that might have been affected by the bank's finance.

Korea Development Bank is an Equator Principles signatory. While the Equator Principles have no official grievance mechanism, complaints relating to this bank's financing of Equator Principles projects can be filed through our own website www.equator-complaints.org.

This page evaluates Korea Development Bank (KDB)'s responses to instances of alleged human rights violations linked to its finance, raised by civil society organisations. It is not intended to be exhaustive, but covers selected impacts raised by BankTrack and other civil society partners since 2016. For the full scoring methodology, see here. For more information about BankTrack's evaluation of bank responses to human rights impacts, see the 2021 report "Actions speak louder: assessing bank responses to human rights violations".

Impacts reviewed
Responded?
Total score
Response
Action
Monitoring

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Good Moves

Good moves

Year:

2018

Korea Development Bank rules out financing the Adani Carmichael coal mine and infrastructure

Three Korean financial institutions (among them the Korea Development Bank) have ruled out investing in the Adani Carmichael coal mine, rail line or Abbot Point coal export terminal, as confirmed in emails to the Wangan and Jagalingou (W&J) Traditional Owners Council.