Steel Industry Busy Searching for 'Second Venue' Ahead of Regular General Meeting

Considering Additional Venue Rentals and Scale Reduction in Response to COVID-19 Confirmed Cases

▲Dongkuk Steel headquarters located in Ferrum Tower, Jung-gu, Seoul

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] Ahead of the regular shareholders' meetings, the steel industry is busy securing additional venues. This measure is taken out of concern that the existing venues might be closed due to confirmed cases of COVID-19.

According to the steel industry on the 10th, Dongkuk Steel is securing an additional venue besides its headquarters at Ferrum Tower in Jung-gu, Seoul, where the shareholders' meeting is scheduled for the 20th. SeAH Besteel is also considering renting a second space apart from the main meeting venue.

Companies finding it difficult to rent additional venues have proposed downsizing the scale of their shareholders' meetings. In the case of KG Dongbu Steel, the meeting venue was changed to a smaller location than before. A KG Dongbu Steel official said, "Last year, we secured a venue that could accommodate about 150 people, but this year, due to concerns over the spread of COVID-19, we replaced it with a venue for 60 to 70 people."

POSCO and Hyundai Steel have decided to actively utilize electronic voting systems. POSCO initially considered renting additional venues or downsizing but plans to proceed with the shareholders' meeting as scheduled by using electronic voting. Hyundai Steel held its shareholders' meetings at the Paradise Hotel until last year but decided to hold this year's meeting at the Best Western Harbor Park Hotel in Incheon.

Companies that have implemented measures such as remote work and strict restrictions on business trips due to the spread of COVID-19 are not postponing shareholders' meetings because these are the biggest events of the year. Since the shareholders' meeting is a place to share last year's business performance with shareholders and to vote on important agenda items, postponing is not easy.

A steel industry official explained, "It was not easy to secure additional venues in case a COVID-19 case is confirmed just before the shareholders' meeting, leading to the closure of related buildings or if symptomatic individuals arrive on the day of the meeting," adding, "Companies that do not use electronic voting are looking for a second venue."

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