Kim Hak-dong, POSCO President, Promoted to Vice Chairman... Focusing on Field Operations and Strengthening New Businesses

POSCO 2022 Regular Executive Appointments and Organizational Restructuring

Choi Jung-woo, Chairman of POSCO

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] Kim Hak-dong, president of POSCO's Steel Business Division, was promoted to vice chairman on the 22nd. Ahead of the holding company system transition next year, the group retained key heads of the steel business division, its main business, and group company representatives, while recruiting a large number of external talents in new business and new technology fields. The promotion of executives notably favored those with field experience.

According to the regular executive personnel appointments and organizational restructuring announced by POSCO Group on the day, Jeon Jung-sun, head of POSCO Global Infrastructure Division, and Jeong Tak, head of the Marketing Division, were promoted from vice presidents to presidents. The company explained that Kim Hak-dong’s promotion was intended to strengthen responsible management in the steel business sector and to reflect his status as the representative of the group’s core business company. POSCO is forecasting its best-ever performance this year, with 37 new executives appointed and 48 promoted. Lee Si-woo, head of the Safety and Environment Division, was appointed as head of the Production Technology Division, Kim Ji-yong, director of Gwangyang Steelworks, was appointed head of the Safety and Environment Division, and Lee Baek-hee, head of the Refractory Division at POSCO Chemical, and Lee Jin-su, deputy head in charge of rolling, were appointed as heads of Pohang and Gwangyang Steelworks, respectively.

Considering the importance of on-site production and safety, about 40% of the total promotions to the level of general manager were from field backgrounds. The company stated that the number of promotions for employees at the manager level or higher at steelworks increased by more than 10% compared to last year.

To boost new business initiatives such as secondary battery materials and hydrogen, POSCO launched the Future Technology Research Institute and recruited many related experts from outside. Kim Do-hyung, managing director at POSCO Chemical, was appointed head of the Secondary Battery Materials Research Institute under the Future Technology Research Institute. Dr. Yoon Chang-won from the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) was appointed head of the Hydrogen and Low Carbon Research Institute, and Dr. Yoon Joo-ung, a carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) expert from the American engineering firm KBR, was recruited as a research fellow.

Kim Joo-min was appointed head of the AI (Artificial Intelligence) Research Institute, Kim Pil-ho as head of the AI Research Center, and Yoon Il-yong as head of the AI Technology Group at POSCO ICT, all at executive levels. In addition to executives, about 60 experts, professors, and advisors in various fields were hired. This is an unusual move for POSCO, which generally favors internal candidates. To strengthen ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) management, new units such as the Low Carbon Process Research Institute, Carbon Neutral Strategy Group, and Electric Furnace Business Promotion Task Force were established. A new Health Planning Office was created for worker hygiene management.

Kwon Young-gyun, deputy general manager of POSCO’s Legal Office, was promoted to an executive in his 40s, and Kang Joo-sung, CEO of partner company Taeun, was appointed head of the Health Planning Office. The company stated that it plans to hold an extraordinary shareholders’ meeting next month and will conduct additional regular personnel appointments once the transition to a holding company system is confirmed.

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