Attorney Sungwoo (Goni) Kim of SOLARIS announced that on the 28th, together with the climate group Solutions for Our Climate (SFOC), he raised greenwashing allegations against Hyundai Motor Company and acted as counsel in filing formal complaints with the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment and the Korea Fair Trade Commission.
The complaints stem from problems with the steel usage disclosure in Hyundai Motor's 2025 Sustainability Report. According to SFOC's analysis, in calculating the amount of steel used to produce its vehicles, Hyundai Motor excluded volumes used in its suppliers' processes and counted only the steel consumed directly in its own plants. As a result, the steel used per vehicle was disclosed as markedly lower than at other global automakers, raising the possibility that its greenhouse gas emissions were underreported.
SOLARIS concluded that this conduct may violate the Environmental Technology and Industry Support Act and the Act on Fair Labeling and Advertising. At a press conference, Attorney Kim noted that "although the company stressed throughout its sustainability report that it manages environmental impacts across its entire supply chain, it deliberately left out supplier data for steel usage, a key metric." He emphasized that this was not a matter of limited capability but clear greenwashing.
SOLARIS will continue to provide in-depth legal advice and expert representation in environmental regulation and fair trade, helping transparent ESG disclosure and genuine environmental management take root in corporate practice.