- Ranks top in Global Industry ESG ratings, joins World, Asia Pacific, Korea Indices simultaneously SEOUL, South Korea, May 04, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- KT&G (KRX: 033780) has joined the top-tier "Dow Jones Best-in-Class (DJBIC)" index, the "World Index" for two consecutive years. It has also been included in the "Asia Pacific" and "Korea" indices, being recognized for world-tier ESG management activities. The Dow Jones Sustainability Index is an annual sustainability rating published by the world's largest financial information provider, "S&P Global", and presents to global investors the standard for responsible investments. Out of top 2500 global companies by market capitalization, only those showing top 10% of ESG-performance are included in the top-tier "World Index." KT&G was ranked top within its industry, recognized for its endeavors to reinforce sustainability across all fields of governance, environmental, and social. KT&G has proven its governance excellence in line with global standards, receiving top ratings across various items including board independence, diversity policies, and ESG governance structure. In the "environment" field, the company's systematic climate change response and water resource management measures based on its "2030 Green Impact" environmental management vision was highly rated. In the "social" field, high scores were given to items such as execution of human rights management. Last December, KT&G was recognized for its world-class ESG management performance and received a "AAA" ESG Index rating from MSCI, a top-class investment information provider, for the first time in the respective industry. KT&G's ESG management director, Young-ah Shim, stated that "KT&G's effort to achieve sophisticated ESG management has been objectively evaluated and recognized by the global capital market, resulting in the inclusion in the World Index," going on to further state "the company will strengthen its ESG management execution in line with core business reinforcement and continue to establish itself as a trusted company to stakeholders." SOURCE KT&G Corporation