On 28 April 2026, stakeholders across Korea's industry, sustainability, and policy ecosystem gathered at 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗞𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗮 𝗘𝗰𝗼-𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝘂𝗺, 𝗵𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗖𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲, 𝗘𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗴𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗘𝗻𝘃𝗶𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁, 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘀 𝗲𝗰𝗼-𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻, 𝗰𝗶𝗿𝗰𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗗𝗶𝗴𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗣𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘀 (𝗗𝗣𝗣𝘀).

The forum's backdrop was the EU Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) — and the question of how Korean industry prepares for it.

A consistent thread ran through the discussions: 𝗰𝗶𝗿𝗰𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗮𝗱𝗱𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗮𝗹 𝗼𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘆𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴.

Conversations centred on product durability, recyclability, material traceability, and what it means for brands to communicate environmental information in a structured, verifiable way. 

It was also notable to see BLACKYAK Co., Ltd. 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗮𝗱𝗼𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗖𝗔𝗥𝗘 𝗜𝗗'𝘀 𝗗𝗣𝗣 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 — 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗼𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘆𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝘆𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗯𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲-𝘁𝗼-𝗳𝗶𝗯𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝘁𝗲𝘅𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗲-𝘁𝗼-𝘁𝗲𝘅𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝗰𝗶𝗿𝗰𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆. Their case illustrated where DPP tends to generate the most value: when embedded in actual product development and connected to real supply chain touchpoints, rather than treated as a separate reporting layer.

One of the stronger signals from industry participants was a call for clearer communication between policymakers and industry — particularly as regulatory timelines continue to shift. The expectation of stability in implementation schedules matters to manufacturers planning ahead. CARE ID followed the discussions closely, and they reaffirmed that 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗿𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝘁 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆, 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗶𝗿𝗰𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗮𝗿 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗱𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝘁.

𝗦𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗞𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗮'𝘀 𝗲𝗰𝗼-𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗲𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 — but the underlying question of how products and their data are designed from the outset is becoming harder to defer. We are glad to connect with anyone working on these questions across the supply chain.