To readers of Kumho Tire 2024 Sustainability Report
Introduction
Korea Management Registrar (KMR) was commissioned by Kumho Tire to conduct an independent assurance of its 2024 Sustainability Report (the “Report”). The data and its presentation in the Report is the sole responsibility of the management of Kumho Tire. KMR’s responsibility is to perform an assurance engagement as agreed upon in our agreement with Kumho Tire and issue an assurance statement.
Scope and Standards
Kumho Tire described its sustainability performance and activities in the Report. Our Assurance Team carried out an assurance engagement in accordance with the AA1000AS v3 and KMR’s assurance standard SRV1000. We are providing a Type 2, moderate level assurance. We evaluated the adherence to the AA1000AP (2018) principles of inclusivity, materiality, responsiveness and impact, and the reliability of the information and data provided using the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Index provided below. The opinion expressed in the Assurance Statement has been formed at the materiality of the professional judgment of our Assurance Team.
Confirmation that the Report was prepared in accordance with GRI standards 2021 was included in the scope of the assurance. We have reviewed the topic-specific disclosures of standards which were identified in the materiality assessment process.
■ GRI Sustainability Reporting Standards 2021
■ Universal standards
■ Topic specific standards
- GRI 205 : Anti-corruption
- GRI 206 : Anti-competitive Behavior
- GRI 301 : Materials
- GRI 302 : Energy
- GRI 303 : Water and Effluents
- GRI 304 : Biodiversity
- GRI 305 : Emissions
- GRI 306 : Waste
- GRI 308 : Supplier Environmental Assessment
- GRI 401 : Employment
- GRI 403 : Occupational Health and Safety
- GRI 404 : Training and Education
- GRI 405 : Diversity and Equal Opportunity
- GRI 406 : Non-discrimination
- GRI 407 : Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining
- GRI 408 : Child Labor
- GRI 409 : Forced or Compulsory Labor
- GRI 414 : Supplier Social Assessment
- GRI 417 : Marketing and Labeling
- GRI 418 : Customer Privacy
As for the reporting boundary, the engagement excludes the data and information of Kumho Tire’s partners, suppliers and any third parties.
KMR's Approach
To perform an assurance engagement within an agreed scope of assessment using the standards outlined above, our Assurance Team undertook the following activities as part of the engagement:
■ reviewed the overall Report;
■ reviewed materiality assessment methodology and the assessment report;
■ evaluated sustainability strategies, performance data management system, and processes;
■ interviewed people in charge of preparing the Report;
■ reviewed the reliability of the Report's performance data and conducted data sampling;
■ assessed the reliability of information using independent external sources such as Financial Supervisory Service’s DART and public databases.
Limitations and Recommendations
KMR’s assurance engagement is based on the assumption that the data and information provided by Kumho Tire to us as part of our review are provided in good faith. Limited depth of evidence gathering including inquiry and analytical procedures and limited sampling at lower levels in the organization were applied. To address this, we referred to independent external sources such as DART and National Greenhouse Gas Management System (NGMS) and public databases to challenge the quality and reliability of the information provided.
Conclusion and Opinion
Based on the document reviews and interviews, we had several discussions with Kumho Tire on the revision of the Report. We reviewed the Report’s final version in order to make sure that our recommendations for improvement and revision have been reflected. Based on the work performed, it is our opinion that the Report applied the GRI Standards. Nothing comes to our attention to suggest that the Report was not prepared in accordance with the AA1000AP (2018) principles.
Inclusivity
Kumho Tire has developed and maintained different stakeholder communication channels at all levels to announce and fulfill its responsibilities to the stakeholders. Nothing comes to our attention to suggest that there is a key stakeholder group left out in the process. The organization makes efforts to properly reflect opinions and expectations into its strategies.
Materiality
Kumho Tire has a unique materiality assessment process to decide the impact of issues identified on its sustainability performance. We have not found any material topics left out in the process.
Responsiveness
Kumho Tire prioritized material issues to provide a comprehensive, balanced report of performance, responses, and future plans regarding them. We did not find anything to suggest that data and information disclosed in the Report do not give a fair representation of Kumho Tire’s actions.
Impact
Kumho Tire identifies and monitors the direct and indirect impacts of material topics found through the materiality assessment, and quantifies such impacts as much as possible.
Reliability of Specific Sustainability Performance Information
In addition to the adherence to AA1000AP (2018) principles, we have assessed the reliability of economic, environmental, and social performance data related to sustainability performance. We interviewed the in-charge persons and reviewed information on a sampling basis and supporting documents as well as external sources and public databases to confirm that the disclosed data is reliable. Any intentional error or misstatement is not noted from the data and information disclosed in the Report.
Competence and Independence
KMR maintains a comprehensive system of quality control including documented policies and procedures in accordance with ISO/IEC 17021·2015 - Requirements for bodies providing audit and certification of management systems. This engagement was carried out by an independent team of sustainability assurance professionals. KMR has no other contract with Kumho Tire and did not provide any services to Kumho Tire that could compromise the independence of our work.
June 2024 Seoul, Korea
