Ethical Management

Kia is devoted to transparency, reliability, and ethical values, as well as ethical management techniques that enhance the company’s sustainable competitiveness.

Governance

Our Audit Committee, Sustainability Management Committee, Outside Director Recommendation Committee, and Compensation Committee under the Board of Directors boost on continuous improvement of ethical management.

Board of Directors

Audit Committee
Sustainability Management Committee
Outside Director Recommendation Committee
Compensation Committee

Code of Ethics and Compliance

In Kia’s employment rules, there are disciplinary regulations for actions such as ethical violations. In particular, Kia enforces disciplinary action without exception in cases of non-compliance with legal obligations. In case of non-compliance with legal obligations, any fraudulent elements are considered during appointments. Additionally, in case of significant violations of compliance obligations, such as assault, misappropriation of public funds, embezzlement, bribery, and sexual harassment, the violator is excluded from appointment in principle.

In 2012, Kia formed an organization dedicated to supporting compliance by appointing a Compliance officer and established compliance control standards and implementation guidelines, the basis for compliance support activities. The Compliance officer operates compliance support activities to prevent corporate legal risks and regularly report the details to the Board of directors. The Compliance officer evaluates the effectiveness of the compliance control system through an external expert and reports the results to the Board of Directors once a year. Kia has ensured that the company's compliance management message is spread smoothly to all executives and employees and that employees have a sense of responsibility for compliance management by implementing the Chief Compliance Manager System that conducts compliance control activities of the affiliated department through the appointment of the company-wide team leader designated as the Compliance support officer since 2017.

Employee Performance Evaluation related to Code of Ethics

Kia conducts employee performance evaluation by including items related to workplace ethics. Core evaluation factors include respect for talent and compliance with principles. When reviewing employee promotion, the history of receiving severe penalties related to ethics/compliance is considered in the promotion process.

Kia introduced a compliance support system under the Commercial Act in 2012, installed a compliance officer and compliance support organization, and established and revised compliance control standards through board resolutions. Our compliance control standards stipulate the standards and procedures for compliance control that employees must follow in their work in order to comply with laws and regulations and ensure proper management of the company. Kia conducts compliance support activities such as monitoring, providing information for compliance management, spreading a culture of compliance, and evaluating the effectiveness of the compliance control system based on the above standards.

Human Rights Protection

Kia protects and promotes human rights of all stakeholders, including employees, partners, and customers. Kia established the Human Rights Charter, which adheres with several international norms on human rights and labor. Kia produced ten primary bullet points in the charter to convey the company's commitment to human rights in all workplaces.

We’re also addressing human resource risks by urging employees to follow human rights principles and guidelines by educating them on the recently approved human rights charter.

Human Rights related Training

Kia operates mandatory legal education for all executives and employees, including sexual harassment prevention education and education to improve awareness of the disabled, so that executives and employees can always be alert to the importance of human rights.

Human Rights Impact Assessment

Kia conducts human rights impact assessments once a year to check human rights risks and verify the implementation of the Human Rights Charter at each business site. In 2023, we emphasized the importance of human rights management to all sites by sending a reminder letter before the assessment was conducted, and two additional areas were checked to reflect the amendments to the Human Rights Charter. We will continue to evolve our human rights impact assessment system to improve the effectiveness of future reviews and the reliability of our results.

Also, Kia continues to listen to the opinions of key stakeholders such as executives and customers to prevent human rights risks, and will continue to supplement the human rights risk management system and strengthen preventive activities.

Composition of Kia Human Rights Impact Assessment

Composition of Kia Human Rights Impact Assessment table
Key areas of assessment	Number of detailed items
Non-discrimination	Nondiscrimination in employment Nondiscrimination based on gender Nondiscrimination of irregular workers Nondiscrimination of foreign nationals
Compliance with labor conditions	Compliance with legal working hours Compliance with wage laws Guarantee of the right to rest Guarantee of working environment
Humane treatment	Violence/harassment prevention No privacy intrusions Work-life balance Protection of personal information No coercion
Freedom of association/collective bargaining	Freedom of association /collective bargaining No penalties for union activities Guarantee and pro tection of bargaining rights Alternative measures in the absence of a union
Prohibition of forced labor and child labor	No forced labor Prevention of forced labor at suppliers Prohibition of hiring children Action against hiring minors
Guarantee of industrial safety	Workplace safety Protection of pregnant and people with disabilities Provision of essential equipment and training Support for victims of industrial accidents
Protection of local residents’ human rights	Respect for local resi dents’ human rights Protection of resident intellectual property
Protection of customers’ human rights	Compliance with consumer protection laws Protection of consumer privacy Actions in case of product defects
Responsible supply chain management	Demand for fulfillment of obligations to protect human rights Monitoring compliance with human rights protections
Guarantee of environmental rights	Establishment and maintenance of environmental management systems Disclosure of environmental information

Fair trade

With the active assistance of top management, Kia implements a fair trade culture. The operation of an in-house compliance council, chaired by the compliance manager, prevents law violations in advance by reporting the status of inspection and operation results to the board of directors regularly. Employees exchanged internal and external fair trade issues on transparent management through on-line and offline training, resulting in a company-wide knowledge.

We send out fair trade newsletters, distribute guidelines and checklists, and conduct frequent inspections to all departments in the Compliance Council to enhance our internal supervisory structure and encourage employees to voluntarily implement fair trade. To ensure that all business partners have equal opportunities, the principle of competitive bidding is applied to all transactions.

Fair trade principles, such as the prohibition of unfair commerce, collusion, and unfair competition, are stipulated and disclosed on the official website for competitors. In the fair trade sector, Kia will fulfill its corporate social duty by working to promote a fair competitive order and a transparent business culture.

CEO Message - 25.1H(PDF)

Key Achievements

Appointment of Compliance Officer

The Compliance Officer designated by the Board of Directors has been chairing and operating the Compliance Council since May 3, 2012.

Compliance Team presides, Legal Affairs Team advises, and teams in each sector supervises

Providing CP education

Continuous CP training includes customized on-site training

Audience: members of Korea Business Division, Finance&Accounting Division, Procurement Division, etc.

Monthly Fair Trade Day for key departments

Holds training sessions for newly hires and special lectures by fair trade experts

Internal monitoring system

Prevention of violations of the Act through the prior business consultation system in the implementation of affairs related to fair trade

Each department’s implementation of self-inspection checklist with frequent sector-level inspections

Implementation of internal inspection of autonomous compliance managers

Document control system

Operate Compliance Management System website

Continuous effort in CP: revise and update related regulations and guidelines. CP included in the standard business procedure.

Ethical marketing

Through advertising and marketing, Kia provides the necessary knowledge and information for vehicles and services selection, thereby maximizing the consumer's right to know and make reasonable choice. In addition, Kia strives to deliver information necessary for a convenient consumption life for vulnerable groups such as the disabled and the elderly, and pursues ethical marketing that does not undermine competitor products as false or deceptive.