[Exclusive] POSCO Abruptly Ends Remote Work Starting April

Remote Work for Seoul and Songdo Employees Ends from April... Some Exceptions Including Pregnant Women and Self-Quarantined
First Among Top 10 Groups... Interpreted as Strengthening Communication Among Employees Following Holding Company Transition and Organizational Restructuring

Seoul POSCO Center exterior view. (Photo by POSCO)

[Asia Economy Reporters Oh Hyung-gil and Moon Chae-seok] POSCO will abruptly end remote work starting next month. Among the top 10 domestic conglomerates, POSCO is the first to stop remote work since the spread of COVID-19.

According to industry sources on the 31st, POSCO has confirmed that all employees working at the POSCO Center and POSCO Tower in Gangnam, Seoul, and the Songdo office in Incheon will switch to a full in-office attendance system. Since next month’s 1st is POSCO’s 54th anniversary, the change is expected to be implemented from the 4th.

The suspension of remote work applies only to office workers. The Pohang and Gwangyang steel mill sites have not implemented remote work even after the COVID-19 outbreak. However, remote work will be maintained for pregnant employees, those with underlying health conditions, employees designated as government-mandated quarantine cases, and those awaiting test results.

The other affiliates within the POSCO Group are implementing a mix of in-office and remote work depending on their company circumstances. POSCO Holdings, launched last month, is not conducting remote work due to its small workforce. In the case of POSCO Chemical, about one-third of the total employees are taking turns working remotely.

POSCO’s decision to completely eliminate remote work is interpreted as reflecting the recent relaxation atmosphere of social distancing guidelines, including demands from the Presidential Transition Committee to ease quarantine measures. The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCH) of the Ministry of Health and Welfare stated, "We are gathering opinions and discussing, including consultations with the Transition Committee," and added, "The final decision on social distancing adjustment plans will be made at the CDSCH meeting on the 1st of next month."

It is also understood that the move aims to improve work efficiency through face-to-face work. An industry insider said, "After changes such as the transition to a holding company and organizational restructuring, it seems that the system has shifted from online work to face-to-face work so that executives and employees can communicate with each other."

However, some express concerns about whether it is necessary to stop remote work before the CDSCH revises social distancing guidelines, given the very rapid transmission rate of the Omicron variant regardless of its fatality rate. Last November, POSCO opened ‘With POSCO Work Station’ satellite offices in Park One, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, and Geumsegi Building, Jung-gu, operating facilities to allow employees from Gangnam, Seoul, and Songdo, Incheon, to work.

A representative of the POSCO branch of the Korean Metal Workers' Union (KMWU) under the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) explained, "Workers at the steel mill sites in Pohang and Gwangyang, which contribute a significant portion of the group’s sales, have been operating at full capacity without remote work for almost two years, so this policy only applies to office workers in Seoul and Songdo."

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