[Future direction of CSR management of East Asian Enterprise ] Feeling the limitations of Western standards, how to instill Asian values into CSR management Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) management requires business managers to consider the benefits of all stakeholders and not just those of shareholders, by managing economic, environmental and social impacts related to corporate operations. Traditionally, business management was aimed at maximizing profit. However, corporations now need to pursue sustainability by minimizing environmental impact and fulfilling social responsibilities, while continuing to generate profits. A need to consider the socio-cultural context of the region The importance of CSR management is increasingly recognized with ever increasing global initiatives. The ten principles of the Global Compact, the CERES principles, the Equator Principles, the Carbon Disclosure Project, and the Global Reporting Initiative guidelines are common principles that are most commonly used as the common principles for CSR management. ISO 26000, the highly anticipated new global standard on CSR management, which has been shaped over past five years, is expected to be announced this month. Creation of many sustainability indices including the Financial Times Sustainability Index (FTSE4GOOD), the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI), the DominiSocial 400, and the Johannesburg Stock Exchange SRI Index are also reinforcing the importance of CSR management. 　 However, none of the principles or indices was created from an Asian perspective or viewpoint. The world is globalized and there are more universal standards than before, however, such standards and principles can only be complete when they reflect socio-cultural context of the each region where they are used. The currently embraced CSR management concepts and methods originated from Western customs and philosophies, and therefore, they are inherently rooted in Western cultures reflecting the values of corporations based in North America and Europe standards and the associated stakeholders associated. 　 Sixty percent of the world’s population lives in Asia and thirty percent of all global trade takes place in Asia. In 2008, former US President George W. Bush mentioned in his speech at the Boao Forum in China that the world economy center has moved from the Atlantic to the Asia Pacific region. As the status of Asia rises in the global community, it is vital to study the merits of Asian corporations’ CSR management and make them reflected in the global standard. Commonalities of three countries rooted in the Confucianism The CSR management in Asian countries each has their own unique characteristics according to their economic development status. However, corporations based in the northeast Asian region share many commonalities as they all operate within similar socio-cultural environments. For instance, the corporations in East Asia especially Korea, China and Japan countries share four common characteristics in their CSR management. 　 First, Asian corporations are less active in publicizing their CSR activities. Such corporate behavior seems to be a result of the Confucian influence. It is also rooted in the desire to avoid blame from unexpected negative consequences. As a result, Asian corporations are considered less active in their CSR activities compared to their Western counterparts. 　 Second, Asian corporations tend focus on CSR activities for external stakeholders rather than for internal stakeholders. As a result, the corporations tend to bring in local communities, suppliers, governments and consumers into their CSR activities. The Confucian emphasis on community value and common benefits for the community also persuade Asian corporations to focus on community development as their main CSR activity, by emphasizing “We” than “I”. Similarly, environmental management is becoming an important CSR focus among Asian corporations. 　 Third, East Asian corporations have a tendency to consider their workers as members of their community rather than mere employees. Such a tendency is rooted in a traditional top-down family-like management style. As a result, the corporations often try to refrain from job cuts unlike many western corporations that tend to cut jobs on a regular basis to meet the bottom line. At the same time, East Asian corporations often demand their workers to show great devotion and loyalty and tend to neglect providing training opportunities and worker’s rights systematically. Lastly, CSR activities of Asian corporations are not very well documented and publicized making it difficult for external observers to note their activities. In Western culture, relationships among different social entities are defined more clearly, while Asian corporations tend to rely on cultural mechanisms such as philosophy and guiding principles of the top management. Therefore, there are many Asian corporations found with good internalization of CSR philosophy, but not easily seen by \outside observers . Stronger action is needed in line with the rising global status 　 Today’s East Asian economy has a much more elevated global status than before. Such changes call for East Asian corporations to define CSR management principles more clearly, make the principles a part of the global CSR management standard and carry out stronger CSR activities. Also, more efforts should be made to publicize their CSR activities. This also requires CSR researchers to thoroughly study Asian CSR management characteristics and provide ideas for improvement. The researchers should also strive to find the merits in Asian CSR management which could be incorporated into global CSR management standards to strengthen all. There will be a rich discussion on unique characteristics of Asian CSR management and assessment methods at the Asia Future Forum 2010: Evolution of East Asian Enterprise. 　 The ‘East Asia 30: CSR in Asia’ session will focus on the ideal method of evaluating CSR management considering the unique cultural characteristics of Asia. Hankyoreh Economic Research Institute organized the Asia CSR Expert Committee (Mr. JU, Chulki, Chair) and created a CSR management evaluation model in August 2010. The top seven hundred corporations based in the three East Asian countries were evaluated and selected for ‘East Asia 30’, the companies showing good performances of CSR management. The selection criteria and procedureswill be disclosed at the ‘East Asia 30: CSR in Asia’ session of Asia Future Forum 2010. Participants will have an opportunity to hear about future direction of the ‘East Asia 30’. Members of the Asia CSR Expert Committee and investors in Korea, Japan and China will attend the event and discuss CSR activities from a socially responsible investment perspective. The ‘Corporate Social Responsibility of East Asian Enterprise’session will provide participants an opportunity to hear about the best CSR management examples of Korea, China and Japan. Professor YANG Bin of Tsinghua University will provide a view on the current status of CSR management with six case studies. Professor EBASHI Takashi of Hosei University will provide case studies on Japanese corporations, and President LEE, Won-Jae will present Korean examples of good CSR management. 　 ARIMA Toshio, former Chairman and Executive Corporate Advisor of Fuji Xerox, who pioneered CSR management in Japan and who is now the Director and Executive Advisor of UN Global Compact Office headquarter, will share his experiences in CSR management in Japan. Vice President LEE, Eun-Wook of Yuhan Kimberly will present on CSR management at Yuhan Kimberly. KIM, Jin-Kyung Research Associate, Hankyoreh Economic Research Institute