Bloomberg: Korea and EU Advance ESG Disclosure Frameworks — Global Fragmentation Deepens

Bloomberg's August 2026 Global Regulatory Brief documents the accelerating global divergence in ESG disclosure mandates. South Korea's Financial Services Commission finalised a phased sustainability disclosure roadmap requiring statutory ESG reporting for large KOSPI-listed companies from 2028 (fiscal year 2027), with a civil/administrative/criminal liability safe harbor for the first three years. The EU finalised RTS under its ESG Ratings Regulation requiring providers to disclose methodology, data sources, governance structures, and conflict-of-interest management. These developments add to an already complex multi-jurisdictional disclosure environment: law firms advising multinational clients now need to coordinate US state-level climate rules (California SB 253, SB 261), EU CSRD obligations, ISSB-aligned disclosures in the UK and Singapore, and nascent Korean frameworks — with each jurisdiction's timing, scope, assurance, and liability rules varying materially. The practical implication: multi-jurisdictional ESG disclosure programs are now a standing coordination requirement rather than a project-based exercise.