Lee Yeon-woo is a financial journalist at The Korea Times. Her wide range of reporting includes policies, macroeconomics, stock market, companies and even crypto. She is passionate about connecting the dots in Korean finance and making it easier for foreign nationals to understand. Based on her previous experience as a national reporter, she also has a keen interest in social issues within the sector, including gender equality and ESG. Your tips and insights are always appreciated. You can send them to yanu@koreatimes.co.kr.
MBK Partners named one of World's Best Companies of 2024
MBK Partners' Founder and Chairman Michael ByungJu Kim / Courtesy of MBK Partners
By Lee Yeon-woo
A poster for the World's Best Companies of 2024, co-published by TIME and Statista / Courtesy of MBK Partners
MBK Partners has been named one of the World's Best Companies of 2024 by TIME magazine and the German market analysis firm Statista, the firm said Friday.
Now in its second edition, this annual list recognizes the top 1,000 companies worldwide based on a comprehensive evaluation across three key areas: corporate growth, environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance and employee satisfaction.
MBK Partners was one of three private equity (PE) firms recognized on the list, along with EQT Group and Bain Capital. It is also one of the two Korean financial companies recognized, alongside the Industrial Bank of Korea. In total, 23 Korean companies were featured on the list, including SK Group, Hyundai Motor Group, Kia and Naver.
TIME and Statista first identified global companies with above-average employee satisfaction through a survey of over 170,000 participants across 50 countries. The list was further refined by evaluating each company’s compound annual growth rate and direct growth from 2021 to 2023. Finally, companies that achieved high scores in sustainability were chosen based on assessments of eight key ESG indicators.
MBK Partners became the first Korean PE firm to sign the U.N. Principles for Responsible Investment in March 2013. Since then, the firm has implemented a responsible investment policy centered on ESG principles and integrated this philosophy into its investment processes.
In September, the firm introduced an in-house ESG evaluation manual, enabling a detailed review of risks and opportunities for improvement during the due diligence for potential investments. The firm also remains committed to ensuring robust ESG management across its portfolio companies.
As of 2023, MBK Partners' portfolio companies in Korea, Japan and China employed over 84,000 people. These companies actively contribute to environmental protection, promote diversity, support vulnerable communities and strive to improve corporate governance, according to the firm.
As of October, women comprise 26 percent of MBK Partners' investment management team, exceeding the U.S. PE industry average of 22 percent.