Gwangyang Steelworks Manager Kim Ki-hyun Receives Ministerial Award from the Ministry of SMEs and Startups

Technical Support for Small Businesses in Electricity, Equipment, and Safety Management Skills and Know-How

Contributing to Productivity Improvement and Cost Reduction for 48 Small Businesses Nationwide

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Heo Seon-sik] Kim Ki-hyun, Manager of the Equipment Technology Department at POSCO Gwangyang Steelworks, announced that he received the Minister of SMEs and Startups Award in recognition of his contribution to win-win cooperation between large and small-medium enterprises at the ‘Win-Win Growth Week’ event held on the 3rd.

Now in its 18th year, the ‘Win-Win Growth Week’ is the largest event in the win-win growth sector jointly hosted by the government and the private sector. It is held annually to promote win-win growth between large and small-medium enterprises and to raise public understanding and interest. The event also awards outstanding companies and contributors who have contributed to national economic development through win-win cooperation between large and small-medium enterprises.

Kim Ki-hyun, who joined Gwangyang Steelworks in 1991, has been working in the Equipment Technology Department, dedicating himself to supporting small-medium enterprises with his expertise and know-how in electricity, equipment, and safety management technologies.

He is active as a member of the POSCO Win-Win Growth Support Group, which shares world-class maintenance technology with companies in need, and the Gwangyang Win-Win Growth Innovation Hub Committee. Through diagnosing equipment and providing solutions to solve problems for small-medium enterprises facing chronic equipment difficulties, he has helped enhance their competitiveness.

Through these technical support activities, he has contributed to improving productivity and reducing costs for 48 small-medium enterprises nationwide. Additionally, he has helped strengthen safety capabilities by providing education on safe electricity use methods to secure workplace safety and prevent fire and electric shock accidents, working diligently to build a robust industrial ecosystem through win-win growth.

Kim Ki-hyun’s win-win growth efforts also extend to the local community. Currently, he provides consulting to farms in Gwangyang City applying for smart farms in the early stages of adoption. He supports selecting and installing appropriate equipment such as smart sensors, devices, and electrical facilities, ensuring they are safe and easy to use.

“The most memorable case was when I consulted for a manufacturer of COVID-19 dedicated vaccine syringes (LDS). At first, it was puzzling that POSCO, a steel company, was consulting a syringe manufacturer,” he said.

He provided technical support to two companies that had to discard 250,000 vaccine syringes due to foreign substances mixed in during the production process. Although initially skeptical, after visiting the companies and listening to employees’ VOC (Voice of Customer), Kim Ki-hyun felt confident that the problem could be resolved.

Moreover, motivated by the hope of helping overcome COVID-19, he actively engaged in the consulting. By analyzing the production processes and equipment of the two companies, automation was achieved, which not only prevented foreign substance contamination but also avoided equipment failures, thereby improving productivity. Furthermore, the project was linked to smart factory support initiatives, resulting in overall improvements.

On the day of the award, Kim Ki-hyun said, “When I thought about how preventing foreign substance contamination in COVID-19 dedicated vaccine syringes allowed people to receive vaccinations with peace of mind, the emotions I felt were indescribable. Going forward, I plan to provide support whenever small-medium enterprises nationwide request technical assistance, and I will work hard so that everyone can grow together under POSCO’s corporate citizenship philosophy.”

Meanwhile, since 2011, Gwangyang Steelworks has been conducting win-win growth activities with Gwangyang City, carrying out innovation activities targeting 202 organizations and small-medium enterprises. From this year, it has expanded its scope to Jeollanam-do Province and is actively striving to realize Together with POSCO (companies you want to do business with), promoting win-win growth with suppliers and customers.

Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Heo Seon-sik hss79@asiae.co.kr

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