Sustainability in Supply Chain > Responsible Mineral

Our Responsible Minerals Management

We focus on raising awareness of responsible minerals issues, conducting inspections on the status of responsible minerals use, and identifying and remedying risk factors in relation to all of our mass-produced materials suppliers based on the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict- Affected and High-Risk Areas. We block the inflow of materials that are not sourced in compliance with our responsible minerals policy from the initial point of purchase.

* OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas

Responsible Minerals Management System

When a lower-tier supplier or a smelter reports a case, we operate the Purchasing System through the following steps: 1) raise suppliers’ awareness 2) inspect the use of conflict-affected and high-risk minerals along the supply chain 3) conduct reasonable due diligence and verification on inspection outcomes 4) verify and assess risk factors within the supply chain, and 5) develop improvement plans for risk and report relevant data. These procedures are carried out in accordance with the standards of RBA, RMI, EPRM, and OECD through coordinated management and joint responses, and the results are shared with our clients and external stakeholders. When a lower-tier supplier or a smelter reports a case, we operate the Purchasing System through the following steps: 1) raise suppliers’ awareness 2) inspect the use of conflict-affected and high-risk minerals along the supply chain 3) conduct reasonable due diligence and verification on inspection outcomes 4) verify and assess risk factors within the supply chain, and 5) develop improvement plans for risk and report relevant data. These procedures are carried out in accordance with the standards of RBA, RMI, EPRM, and OECD through coordinated management and joint responses, and the results are shared with our clients and external stakeholders.
  1. RBA: Responsible Business Alliance
  2. RMI: Responsible Minerals Initiative
  3. EPRM: European Partnership for Responsible Minerals

Using the RMI’s templates on conflict and responsible minerals, including but not limited to the Conflict Minerals Reporting Template (CMRT), Extended Minerals Reporting Template (EMRT), and Additional Minerals Reporting Template(AMRT), we collected data from all suppliers that we conduct business with through the Purchasing System on conflict and responsible minerals as well as other information on smelters within the supply chain. In addition, we required our suppliers to extend the ban on conflict minerals to their own suppliers in accordance with our conflict minerals policy.

Number of Smelters and Refiners within Our Supply Chains

(Unit : Number of cases)
This table shows the number of smelters by mineral type from 2020 to 2024.
Category 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Tantalum 38 38 36 42 41
Tin 53 55 59 67 74
Tungsten 42 40 39 33 37
Gold 107 107 99 91 91
Cobalt 27 35 42 42 49
Mica - 10 19 26 26
Lithium - 16 11 8 101
Copper - - 33 90 388
Nickel - - 22 30 99
Aluminium - - - 27 66
Silver - - - 10 13
Chrome - - - - 17
Zinc - - - - 9
* We acquired 100% RMAP certification for conflict minerals tantalum, tin, tungsten, gold, and responsible mineral cobalt, with other minerals to be expanded through joint action with RMI.
List of smelters and refiners

We internally review all our suppliers’ data upon submission, perform additional audits in relation to the submitted data, and sort suppliers that require follow-up monitoring. In 2024, we audited the credibility of data submitted by 202 suppliers around the world and their conflict minerals policy implementation status.

Number of on-site inspections

(Unit : Number of cases)
This table presents the number of on-site inspections conducted from 2020 to 2024: 427 cases in 2020, 493 in 2021, 438 in 2022, 315 in 2023, and 202 in 2024.
  • * From 2020 to 2022, inspections were performed in a contact-free manner via document review due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • * Starting with on-site inspections of suppliers in South Korea in 2023, we expanded the scope in 2024 to include all locations within and outside South Korea.

Through such efforts, we are able to screen out conflict minerals illegally mined from 10 African countries including the Democratic Republic of the Congo and only use minerals sourced from smelters certified by globally recognized third-party accreditation entities. In addition to conflict minerals, we continually monitor minerals that entail human rights violations and environmental destruction issues during the mining process and take necessary steps in cooperation with other global organizations.

Responsible Minerals Report
Last updated June 27, 2025