Waste management business loses appeal among Korean conglomerates

A growing number of major Korean conglomerates are withdrawing from the waste management business, once highly sought after for its alignment with the investing principles emphasizing environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) factors. As ESG has received less attention in recent years, more companies have shifted their focus toward their core affiliates to adapt to challenging market conditions. SK Ecoplant announced Aug. 20 that it signed an agreement with KKR to sell its entire holdings in Renewus, Renewone and Renewenergy Chungbuk to the U.S. private equity firm for 1.78 trillion won ($1.3 billion). Renewus, acquired by the construction firm in 2020, specializes in wastewater treatment. Renewone was formed through the mergers of various waste incineration and landfill companies that SK Ecoplant acquired between 2021 and 2022. Renewenergy Chungbuk operates a waste incineration plant in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province. Although SK Ecoplant changed its name from SK E&C in 2021 to signal its ambition to be an environmental company, it decided to divest the three unprofitabWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times