POSCO Promotes Kim Hak-dong to President of Steel Division... 'Generational Change and Expansion of New Business Organization'

Generational Change in Steel Division Top Management... Most Heads Retained for Stability Amid Crisis
Company-wide Innovation for Steel Business Revamp... 'Creative Innovation TF' Established
Continued Expansion of Female Executives, First Female President Appointed in Group Companies

Kim Hak-dong, President of POSCO Steel Division

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] POSCO has promoted Kim Hak-dong, head of the Production Technology Division, to President of the Steel Division, and appointed Lee Yoo-kyung, head of the Equipment and Materials Purchasing Office, as CEO of NTB, marking the first female president in the group. The company established new divisions for the hydrogen business, a new venture, and the logistics business, which had been controversial, directly under the CEO. Additionally, POSCO will abolish executive ranks to overcome its unique vertical culture.

On the 21st, POSCO announced that it had carried out the '2021 Executive Personnel Changes' to significantly strengthen the organization and personnel in new growth areas to fully promote the motto of Chairman Choi Jeong-woo’s second term, 'Innovation' and 'Growth.'

◆ Steel Division 'Generational Change'... Promotion of President Kim Hak-dong = In the Steel Division, Jang In-hwa stepped down as Steel Division Head to become an advisor, and Kim Hak-dong, head of the Production Technology Division, was promoted to Steel Division President. Lee Si-woo, head of the Gwangyang Steelworks, was promoted to head of the Production Technology Division, and Lee Ju-tae, head of the Management Strategy Office, was promoted to head of the Purchasing and Investment Division, driving a generational change in the top management. Kim Ji-yong, head of the Indonesian steel plant PT.KP, who led the normalization of management there, was appointed as head of Gwangyang Steelworks. These individuals are evaluated as capable of leading innovation and strengthening on-site competitiveness under Chairman Choi Jeong-woo’s second term, having achieved an early turnaround in steel division performance despite difficult management conditions this year. Meanwhile, most division heads, including Jeon Jung-sun of the Global Infrastructure Division, Jung Tak of the Marketing Division, and Jung Chang-hwa of the Management Support Division, were retained.

To overcome the stagnation of low growth in the steel business and secure a super-gap competitiveness, POSCO has established a 'Creative Innovation TF' within line organizations such as production, marketing, and purchasing to review all tasks from zero base and promote innovation activities to discover fundamental improvements. Furthermore, POSCO, the first global steel company to launch an ESG dedicated organization, plans to accelerate leading the carbon-neutral era by establishing the 'Low Carbon Process Research Group,' a carbon-free steelmaking technology development organization, to realize 2050 Net-Zero.

Under the CEO, new divisions for Industrial Gas & Hydrogen Business and Logistics Business were established, appointing Vice President Yoo Byung-ok, head of the Purchasing and Investment Division, as head of the Industrial Gas & Hydrogen Business Division, and Vice President Kim Kwang-soo, head of the U.S. representative office, as head of the Logistics Business Division?both heavyweight figures within the group. Five executive-level organizations were newly established under these two divisions, deploying many outstanding personnel within the group.

◆ Battery Material Organization Restructuring and Workforce Expansion... First Female President Appointed in the Group = POSCO Chemical’s Energy Materials Headquarters, which is promoting secondary battery (electric vehicle battery) material businesses such as cathode and anode materials, was reorganized into the Energy Materials Business Division, expanding its organization and workforce. Jeong Dae-heon, head of the Anode Material Office at POSCO Chemical, who has successfully led the anode material business, was promoted and appointed as division head. Executives and outstanding personnel from POSCO and POSCO International were also assigned to the newly established Strategy Office and Marketing Office under the division.

POSCO’s trend of expanding female executives also continued. Lee Yoo-kyung, who is recognized for leading the group’s win-win growth activities, was appointed president of NTB, marking the first female president in the group. Oh Ji-eun, deputy general manager of the Production Technology Strategy Office, was promoted to senior researcher at the Technical Research Institute. Additionally, many presidents of group companies such as POSCO ICT, POSCO M-Tech, POSCO Technology Investment, and POSCO Terminal stepped down, leading to a generational change.

Meanwhile, to overcome hierarchical consciousness and spread a horizontal corporate culture, POSCO decided to abolish executive ranks and implement personnel changes based on positions. Therefore, executive titles such as vice president, senior managing director, and managing director will be changed to position titles such as division head and office head.

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