'60th Anniversary' SeAH Group, The Third Generation Runs for the Next 60 Years

From the left, Juseong Lee, Vice President of SeAH Steel Holdings, Taesung Lee, Vice President of SeAH Holdings, Sunghyung Lee, Chairman of SeAH Group.

[Asia Economy Reporter Park So-yeon] Celebrating its 60th anniversary this year, SeAH Group is accelerating third-generation management next year to prepare for the next 60 years. Vice Chairman Lee Tae-sung of SeAH Holdings and Vice Chairman Lee Joo-sung of SeAH Steel Holdings will focus their capabilities on core businesses as the two main pillars and actively pursue global business expansion.

According to industry sources on the 20th, SeAH Group plans to maintain the leadership of Chairman Lee Soon-hyung next year while expanding the scope of the third-generation management.

SeAH Group has formed the two pillars of third-generation management with the same-age cousin brothers, Vice Chairman Lee Tae-sung of SeAH Holdings and Vice Chairman Lee Joo-sung of SeAH Steel Holdings, since 1978. Vice Chairman Lee Tae-sung is responsible for the special steel business centered on SeAH Holdings, SeAH Besteel, and SeAH Special Steel, while Vice Chairman Lee Joo-sung is in charge of the steel pipe business centered on SeAH Steel Holdings and SeAH Steel.

In recent years, Vice Chairmen Lee Tae-sung and Lee Joo-sung have led the group’s future by achieving results in their respective business areas and attempting bold changes. Vice Chairman Lee Tae-sung, who is responsible for the special steel business, was early on recognized for his management capabilities through the acquisition of POSCO Special Steel. It is known that Lee Tae-sung played a leading role in the task force (TF) when SeAH Besteel pursued the acquisition of POSCO Special Steel in 2014. By successfully acquiring POSCO Special Steel, SeAH Group became the world’s largest special steel manufacturer with an annual total production capacity of 4 million tons. Subsequently, POSCO Special Steel was renamed SeAH Changwon Special Steel and became a major revenue source for SeAH Besteel. Recently, Vice Chairman Lee Tae-sung has been expanding the business area, which was previously limited to steel, into the non-steel sector. Earlier this year, SeAH Besteel acquired Alconic Korea, the Korean subsidiary of a global aluminum materials company.

Vice Chairman Lee Joo-sung is also actively preparing future growth engines by turning his attention to eco-friendly businesses such as the offshore wind power structure market. The offshore wind power business is one of the core pillars of the Korean-style Green New Deal, which the government has been actively promoting recently, and it is also a rapidly growing renewable energy sector in Europe, including the UK. In September, SeAH Steel Holdings acquired the Syntec plant located in Suncheon, Jeollanam-do. Utilizing the site and buildings of this plant, they plan to expand the production line for jacket pin piles, one of the offshore wind power structures. In preparation for the U.S. Trade Expansion Act, last year they expanded the second plant of SeAH Steel Vina, their production corporation in Vietnam, and are preparing for further expansion. Additionally, they are accelerating the development of new products such as tunnel steel pipes and seismic steel pipes. They plan to continue expanding sales of high-profit products such as large-diameter steel pipes for offshore wind power structures in the Americas and steel pipes for global LNG projects.

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