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Abstract: This study develops a Pension Fund Disclosure Quality Index (PFDQI) to evaluate the ESG disclosure quality of three major East Asian public pension funds—China’s National Council for Social Security Fund (NCSSF), South Korea’s National Pension Service (NPS), and Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF)—over the period 2020–2025. By using content analysis and sigma-convergence analysis, the study examines both cross-national differences and dynamic changes in disclosure quality. The results indicate that ESG disclosure quality improved consistently across all three pension funds during the study period. GPIF maintained the highest disclosure quality, NPS demonstrated steady progress, and NCSSF exhibited a significant catch-up effect. It is also reflected that climate disclosure and credibility emerged as the weakest dimensions across the three institutions. The findings further reveal a gradual convergence trend in ESG disclosure quality, although substantial institutional differences remain. As a result, this study contributes to the sustainable finance literature by providing a pension fund–specific ESG disclosure assessment framework and new comparative evidence from East Asia.
 

Keywords: ESG disclosure quality; pension funds; responsible investment; sustainable finance; East Asia