NCSoft added to the Dow Jones Sustainability Korea Index

NCSoft R&D Center in Pangyo, Gyeonggi [NCSOFT]

NCSoft has been added to the Dow Jones Sustainability Korea Index, a first for a Korean game company, NCSoft said Thursday.

The index includes companies chosen for their environmental policies and sustainability. There are regional categories, such as the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index.

Thirteen companies were newly added to Dow Jones Sustainability Korea Index this year, including NCSoft. In total, 52 Korean companies are in the index.

NCSoft is well known for its Lineage massively multiplayer online roleplaying game (MMORPG) franchise and is the largest Korean game company by market cap as of December. It has been receiving a positive response from the market on its data security and ESG data disclosures, according to the game publisher.

Last October, the game company was rated AA, the second highest out of seven ranks, by the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MCSI) ESG Ratings, up one level from the A it received a year before that.

Other companies added to the Dow Jones Sustainability Korea Index include Doosan Fuel Cell, SK Biopharm, Korean Air, Posco Chemical, Posco International and KT&G.

Five Korean corporations have been added to the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index — Hana Financial Group, Amorepacific, Posco Holdings, Kia and Samsung SDS — bringing Korea's total to 24.

BY YOON SO-YEON [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]