Samsung Group has expanded its ESG (environmental, social and governance) investments and raised consumer perception, but the gap between its actual performance and consumer perception has grown wider, data showed. The analysis suggests that simply expanding communication of its ESG performance so that consumers can better understand it could further raise the brand premium and increase commercial value. By contrast, Hyundai Motor was found to have succeeded in raising consumer perception by consistently promoting its future mobility vision.
According to data exclusively obtained by The Seoul Economic Daily upon request from Brand Finance, the UK-based global brand valuation firm, Samsung Group's 2026 Sustainability Perceptions Value (SPV) reached $9.74074 billion (about 14.6 trillion won), up more than 23% from $7.9 billion (11.84 trillion won) in 2025. However, its "gap value," which shows the difference between actual ESG performance and consumer perception, stood at $452 million (about 680 billion won), more than double the $203 million recorded in 2024, two years earlier. A high gap value is interpreted to mean that Samsung is not receiving consumer recognition commensurate with its ESG investment.
Because Samsung Group's ESG investment performance exceeds consumer perception, the brand value could be lifted simply by strengthening communication to properly convey it, according to Alex Haigh, managing director for Asia-Pacific at Brand Finance. Brand Finance calculates its SPI (Sustainability Perceptions Index) annually based on consumer surveys and corporate sustainability data. Because sustainability performance for Samsung and LG is disclosed at the group level, their gap values were also calculated on a group basis. This year's report did not disclose company-level rankings and figures, but The Seoul Economic Daily requested and exclusively obtained the data.
Widening Gap at Samsung, Halved at Hyundai, Balanced at LG
Across the groups, there were large gaps between ESG investment performance and consumer perception.
The "gap value" surveyed by Brand Finance is calculated by comparing the results of a perception score survey of 175,000 people across 41 countries with performance scores from CSRHub, a sustainability data aggregator.
Samsung Group actively pursued ESG investments, including its "New Environmental Management Strategy" (carbon neutrality for the DX division by 2030 and company-wide by 2050) and expanded water recycling in semiconductor processes, which raised its SPV. But because consumers did not credit it to the same extent, its gap value widened.
By contrast, Hyundai Motor significantly reduced its gap value. In 2025, its gap value of $663 million was the largest among Korean companies, but this year it was halved to $326 million, falling below Samsung Group. This is attributed to improved consumer perception as the company consistently promoted its electric vehicle transition and future mobility vision in global markets.
LG Group had a gap value of negative $80.46 million in 2025, meaning its known image was better than its actual performance. This year, it swung to a positive $1.19 million, balancing performance and perception. LG Group's SPV stands at $1.643 billion (about 2.46 trillion won). Brand Finance explained that LG's renewable energy transition and circular economy programs received positive assessments.
Tesla's Warning, Apple's Textbook
Tesla shows what happens when consumer perception of a company's ESG investment gets ahead. Tesla CEO Elon Musk last month became the first-ever "trillionaire" as his net worth surpassed $1 trillion following SpaceX's listing. However, the brand value that sustainability had created for Tesla evaporated by $7.7 billion over the past year. It shrank from $17.8 billion in 2023 to $10.4 billion last year and $2.7 billion this year — a sixth of what it was. Its eco-friendly image had raced ahead of its governance and labor performance, and the gap widened.
By contrast, Apple's gap value of $2.6 billion is the largest in the world. Brand Finance called it "a case in which performance stayed ahead of perception while being converted into long-term value," citing it as the most valid comparison for Korean conglomerates with similar supply chains and regulatory environments.
"Greenhushing," in which companies invest well in ESG but do not actively promote it, is a global phenomenon. It is the result of companies staying silent to avoid political backlash targeting ESG. However, the backlash is past its peak. The number of industries where sustainability's consumer influence has weakened fell from 38 out of 48 last year to 24 this year. "Many brands are leaving sustainability brand value unrealized because of greenhushing, in which they under-communicate real progress," Director Haigh said. "In Korea, trust and influence are still concentrated in large corporations, so it is natural for them to become the main conveyors of the sustainability narrative."
Same Samsung, Different Report Cards... The Task Is Aligning 'Performance' and 'Perception'
Analyses diverge by rating agency. MSCI maintains an AA rating for Samsung Electronics, one notch below the top grade (AAA). Sustainalytics viewed it as "low risk" with a risk score of 14.8, but that is around the average among global technology hardware peers. The Korea Institute of Corporate Governance and Sustainability (KCGS) assigned an integrated A grade last year. Brand Finance explained that "each evaluation has a different methodology, purpose and subject." Sustinvest, a major domestic rating agency, likewise warned last November against for-show behavior, noting that companies' expansion of ESG management systems does not immediately lead to substantive performance improvement.
The SPI also has clear limitations because it is a perception survey. The Korean sample of 4,281 people was skewed toward older age groups, with 36% aged 55–64 and 7% aged 18–24. Performance scores also rely on a single data source, CSRHub. Brand Finance also explains that performance alone does not bring perception along with it.
Nevertheless, the SPI's message is clear. Samsung Electronics set new record highs in both earnings and stock price, driven by the semiconductor boom. Its stock price at one point more than doubled this year. But consumer perception has not kept pace with that speed. "The most undervalued lever is not communication itself but the alignment of communication with verifiable ESG progress," Director Haigh said. "When perception gets ahead of performance, there is exposure to adjustment risk; when performance gets ahead of perception, there is exposure to unrealized value." Ultimately, the task remaining for Korean companies is to promote their ESG efforts as much as they perform them, and to be valued as corporate worth as much as they promote them.
[Glossary]
◇ SPI (Sustainability Perceptions Index)
An annual sustainability perception survey system published by Brand Finance, the UK-based brand valuation firm. It surveys 175,000 consumers across 41 countries to measure how sustainable the world's major brands are perceived to be. Domestic companies such as Samsung, Hyundai Motor and LG are also among the subjects. It measures consumer perception rather than a company's actual performance, and these results serve as the starting point for calculating SPV and gap value.
◇ SPV (Sustainability Perceptions Value)
A perception-based brand value calculated from the SPI survey results. It is the monetary conversion of the portion of total brand value created by the consumer perception of being a "sustainable company." The larger this value, the more the sustainability image contributes to brand value. However, because it is based on perception rather than actual performance, it can differ from performance. The indicator that measures this difference is gap value.
◇ Gap Value
The monetary conversion of the difference between a company's actual ESG performance and consumer perception. It is calculated by comparing performance data from CSRHub, which aggregates multiple ESG evaluations, with perception data from the SPI survey. A positive (+) value means performance is ahead of perception, indicating that the company is undervalued to that extent. A negative (-) value means perception is ahead of actual performance. Even if performance is good, the gap value widens if it is not made known.
