기업의 ESG경영시 인덱스 펀드의 역할 및 입법적 개선방안

Index funds and corporate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) management do not seem to be connected if the basic concepts are considered. However, as there has been a great increase recently in the asset size of index funds, especially in major countries, also there has been increasing interest the ESG management of investment companies and the role of index funds. Consequently, academic circles overseas have been discussing the advantages and disadvantages. In the fund industry, because BlackRock, the world's largest asset management company in 2021, has emphasized ESG management of investment target companies, other fund management companies are also doing the same. As Korea is also being affected by this trend, in this article we first looked at the effectiveness of the role of index funds in corporate ESG management. Discussions on ESG are mainly focused on the USA because the US capital market is the world's largest so that the size of assets under management is much greater than that of other countries, leading to more discussions on corporate ESG management and the role of index funds. As a result, it is important to review such discussions. In addition, Korea's capital market is open to foreign investors and US funds account for the major portion of such foreign investment. Reference is also made to some discussions that have taken place in Japan. Finally, based on the above considerations, several legislative measures necessary for enhancing the role of index funds in corporate ESG management are presented.