[People 人] POSCO's Choi Jung-woo Making 'First' History... Now Driving Decarbonization Efforts

First Non-Engineer CEO Since Founding
Financial Expert's Background Shines Amid Industry Slump and COVID-19 Crisis
Unanimous Board Approval for Reappointment

Choi Jung-woo, Chairman of POSCO, is visiting the 4th hot rolling mill at Gwangyang Steelworks and receiving explanations from employees.

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] First, first, first...

For Choi Jeong-woo, Chairman of POSCO, 'first' is a descriptor that follows him like fate. Starting as the first POSCO chairman from a 'financial expert' background, Chairman Choi has walked paths never taken by previous chairmen in business, management philosophy, labor, and communication. Having virtually secured his reappointment with unanimous board approval, the path he is currently pioneering is the decarbonization of the steel industry.

First foothold in 'electric vehicle battery materials' new business... Strategist nurturing future growth engines

The declaration of decarbonization in the steel industry, a high carbon-emitting sector, is not sudden. One of the new businesses that Chairman Choi has devoted considerable effort to, alongside the core steel business, is secondary batteries (electric vehicle batteries), which aligns with the decarbonization trend.

Since his time as CEO of POSCO Chemtech (now POSCO Chemical), he emphasized fostering the secondary battery materials business. This was based on the judgment that they could not cling to past glories amid industry downturns and the impact of COVID-19. In his first year as POSCO chairman, he announced as one of the '100 Reform Tasks' the goal of making the profit ratio of steel, global infrastructure, and new growth businesses 40%, 40%, and 20%, respectively, reflecting this strategy.

Results are also emerging. POSCO Chemical, responsible for the secondary battery materials business, recorded sales of 1.5 trillion KRW last year, and it is expected to surpass 1.9 trillion KRW this year and 2 trillion KRW next year, overtaking POSCO Energy.

New management philosophy in over 50 years... from 'Steel for the Nation' to 'Corporate Citizenship'

After taking office, Chairman Choi declared a management philosophy called 'Corporate Citizenship Together.' He was the first in POSCO's history to propose a new management philosophy. Previous chairmen were devoted to the mission of 'making steel to repay the nation' (Jecheolboguk).

The year 2018, when Chairman Choi took office, was POSCO's 50th anniversary. It is known that before his inauguration, he communicated with opinion leaders such as Professor Song Ho-geun of POSTECH to contemplate the direction of a '100-year company.' As a result, 'Corporate Citizenship' was born, focusing on addressing current and future social issues and pledging to 'take one step closer to society' to solve them.

Now that his first term has expired, Chairman Choi's management theme has become a global lingua franca. A POSCO official explained, "This is an example where you can see Chairman Choi's qualities as a manager," adding, "The management themes of the now mainstream 'sustainable management,' 'ESG (Environment, Social, Governance) management,' and 'Corporate Citizenship' are essentially the same."

An example of expressing the 'Corporate Citizenship' management commitment is the 'Corporate Citizenship Love Letter.' A bulletin board was set up to openly receive opinions not only from employees but also from external parties, requesting reform suggestions. It was the first time external opinions were received and actually reflected, causing a stir.

POSCO's first 'labor union launch'... safety accidents remain a challenge

The driving force behind Chairman Choi's creation of 'POSCO firsts' can be found in his background. Born in 1957 in Busan, Chairman Choi is a native of Busan who graduated from Dongnae High School and Busan National University with a degree in economics. He joined POSCO in 1983 and spent most of his career in finance. He served as POSCO Audit Director in 2005, Finance Director in 2006, Integrity Management Director (Executive Director) in 2010, and was promoted to CEO and CFO in 2017. Until then, it was an unwritten rule that POSCO chairmen were selected from engineering backgrounds. Therefore, his appointment as chairman attracted great attention. He became the first non-engineer to lead the group since POSCO's founding.

His success in new businesses outside the steel industry and minimizing the impact of COVID-19 are also attributed to his unique background. A business insider said, "Managing cash flow well is crucial in times of crisis," adding, "Chairman Choi, as a financial expert, was able to withstand the industry downturn and COVID-19 shock well."

The 'labor' issue cannot be overlooked either. After Chairman Choi took office, the era of no-union management ended. A labor union under the Korean Metal Workers' Union (KMWU) was launched, and a union affiliated with the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU) secured the status of the representative negotiating union. A POSCO official said, "Since Chairman Choi was nominated, he said he would respond flexibly to labor issues," and evaluated, "Although there were some noises, the fact that a union was launched itself is significant."

It is also symbolic that Moon Sung-hyun, chairman of the Economic, Social and Labor Council (ESLC), visited POSCO directly last July. This shows the progressive change in POSCO's labor-management relations since Chairman Choi's inauguration.

However, safety accidents remain a challenge to be resolved. An industry insider said, "Chairman Choi announced an investment of 1 trillion KRW to install multiple safety protection devices to prevent recurrence of safety accidents, so attention is focused on what achievements will be made in the second term starting next year."

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