POSCO "Innovating Management System and Discovering Future New Businesses for Development with Local Communities"

Kim Hak-dong Vice Chairman "Balanced Growth Between Steel and New Businesses"
"Innovating Management System for Development of Eco-friendly Material Companies"
Operating Company POSCO, Headquarters Remain in Pohang
Continued Contribution to Local Community through Production, Taxes, Employment, Investment

POSCO Holdings Launching on the 2nd of Next Month
Priority Review of Battery Materials and Hydrogen-related Sites in Pohang and Gwangyang

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Dong-hoon] POSCO has reaffirmed its commitment to discovering future new businesses in collaboration with local communities such as Pohang and Gwangyang.

On the 16th, POSCO stated, "Amid rapidly changing management environments such as the great transition to a low-carbon and eco-friendly era and accelerated technological innovation, we are promoting the transition to a holding company system to discover future new businesses for the group's sustainable growth and enhancement of corporate value, and to take charge of business and investment management."

On the 28th of last month, POSCO held an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders to vote on the holding company transition. As a result, 75.6% of shareholders by number of shares exercised their voting rights, and the proposal was approved with an overwhelming 89.2% approval rate of attending shareholders.

Kim Hak-dong, Vice Chairman of POSCO, said, "We agreed that innovation in the management system is urgently needed to accelerate balanced growth between steel and new businesses and to develop our business identity into an eco-friendly future materials company. We judged that the transition to a holding company system responsible for discovering future new businesses and managing business and investments is essential. To lead the global carbon neutrality trend, POSCO Group plans to take the lead in low-carbon production technology research and development (R&D) and production system transition under the responsibility of the steel-dedicated business company."

The holding company system will be divided into the holding company ‘POSCO Holdings’ and the steel business company ‘POSCO’. The holding company will be responsible for discovering future new businesses, managing group business and investments, and establishing group R&D and ESG strategies, while the steel business company will be physically separated and lead the transition to an eco-friendly production system such as CCUS (carbon capture, utilization, and storage technology) and hydrogen reduction steelmaking technology.

In particular, the business company POSCO will receive most of the personnel and assets from the pre-division company, and its headquarters will remain in Pohang, continuing to contribute to the local community in all aspects including local production, taxes, employment, and investment without change.

POSCO has developed and grown together with the local communities of Pohang and Gwangyang as a community of shared destiny. If the growth of POSCO, a steel company, slows down and corporate value declines, it will negatively affect the local community as well.

However, if stable growth is achieved in various businesses such as secondary battery materials and hydrogen through POSCO’s transition to a holding company system, it is expected to have a positive effect on the local community.

The steel business will continue to play a central role as the core business of the group even after the division, and plans to further expand and strengthen investments in eco-friendly facilities such as hydrogen reduction steelmaking and electric furnaces to gradually transition to a carbon-neutral production system and enhance green steel competitiveness.

Furthermore, the fostering of new growth businesses through POSCO Group’s transition to a holding company system is expected to lead to increased investment in local communities. For example, POSCO Group recently decided to build a factory in the region capable of producing 60,000 tons annually of cathode materials, a key secondary battery material. It also attracted the venture company ‘Graphene Square,’ which developed and commercialized ‘graphene,’ a next-generation new material, for the first time in the world, by establishing venture valleys such as Change Up Ground in Pohang and Gwangyang.

In the future, when POSCO creates future technology research achievements and promotes new growth businesses at the group level, it is expected to contribute more significantly to the development of Pohang and Gwangyang through new investments and job creation. Based on the research achievements of the Future Technology Research Institute, business sites related to secondary battery materials and hydrogen will prioritize Pohang and Gwangyang.

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