At the '2026 Hankyoreh International Forum on Corporate Governance,' held in Seoul, Hiro Mizuno, former Chief Investment Officer of Japan's Government Pension Investment Fund, discussed the importance of establishing clear objectives for corporate governance reforms in South Korea to ensure long-term, sustainable growth of companies. He highlighted that the stewardship code, which serves as guidelines for institutional investors like pension funds and asset management firms in responsibly managing assets on behalf of clients, encourages active dialogue with companies and the exercise of voting rights to enhance corporate and shareholder value.

Mizuno, who held his position at GPIF during the period from 2015 to 2020, noted that Japan has successfully implemented corporate governance reforms since 2012 under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, resulting in significant improvements in corporate structures and market valuations. He pointed out that while South Korea shares similarities with Japan in terms of corporate governance and capital markets, it also has distinct challenges, such as the dominance of chaebols (large family-owned business conglomerates). Therefore, he stressed that blindly following Japan's path would not necessarily yield the desired results for South Korea.

Following the forum, there was considerable interest in Mizuno's insights, prompting the Hankyoreh to release a detailed report on his comments to provide deeper analysis on the implications of Japan's experiences for South Korea's economic landscape. This highlights the crucial nature of cross-national learning in corporate governance practices, particularly in the context of strengthening ESG (environmental, social, and governance) investment principles that Mizuno advocated during his tenure at GPIF.