Chairman Choi Jung-woo: "We Must Pioneer Domestic and Export Markets"... Steel Association Holds New Year's Meeting

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] Choi Jung-woo, Chairman of POSCO, stated, "It is necessary to develop the domestic market and pioneer export markets through proactive responses to overseas import regulations."

Chairman Choi made these remarks on the afternoon of the 10th at the 2020 Steel Industry New Year's Meeting held at the POSCO Center in Daechi-dong, Seoul. He said, "Last year was a challenging year due to the US-China trade dispute, Japan's export restrictions, sluggish demand, and environmental issues."

Last year, Korea's steel export value was $31.1 billion, down 8.5% from $34 billion in 2018, but it maintained the achievement of exceeding $30 billion since 2017, when it was $34.2 billion.

Regarding the steel industry's business environment this year, Chairman Choi forecasted, "The domestic and international business environment will remain uncertain due to the spread of protectionist measures to emerging countries, low steel demand growth of around 1%, and strengthening environmental regulations."

He added, "It is necessary to develop the domestic market and pioneer export markets through proactive responses to overseas import regulations. Promoting the eco-friendliness of steel, a core material of the circular economy, and actively improving the environment will also be solutions for making the industry more environmentally friendly."

He further stated, "To overcome low growth, it is necessary to build an intelligent steel industry using artificial intelligence (AI), establish cooperation models between large and small-medium enterprises for self-reliance in materials, parts, and equipment, and jointly develop materials with demand industries."

At the 2020 Steel Association New Year's Meeting, Jeong Seung-il, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, said, "This year, the steel industry's conditions are expected to remain challenging due to the global steel demand slowdown and sluggish domestic upstream industries," emphasizing, "The industry and government must cultivate new competitiveness through cooperation and coexistence."

Vice Minister Jeong also requested active responses to safety and environmental issues.

He said, "To maintain public trust in the steel industry, companies themselves must once again review their safety systems and actively invest in eco-friendly measures such as reducing fine dust and greenhouse gases, meeting the public's expectations."

Meanwhile, about 150 steel industry figures attended the event, including Chairman Choi, Vice Minister Jeong, Andong-il, President of Hyundai Steel, Jang Se-wook, Vice Chairman of Dongkuk Steel, Lee Soon-hyung, Chairman of SeAH Steel, Lee Se-cheol, President of KG Dongbu Steel, Hong Young-cheol, Chairman of Korea Steel, Son Bong-rak, Chairman of TCC Steel, and Lee Min-cheol, Vice Chairman of the Korea Iron & Steel Association.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.