POSCO Chairman Choi Jeong-woo "Will Not Acquire Iljin Materials" (Comprehensive)

23rd Iron Day Event Attended as Association President

Raw Material Prices Including Thick Plate Rising
Industry Vice Minister "Cooperation with Demand Companies"
Choi Jung-woo "Beautiful Partnership"

Jang Young-jin, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (fifth from the left), and Choi Jung-woo, Chairman of the Korea Iron & Steel Association, among others, are posing for a commemorative photo at the 23rd Steel Day event held on the morning of the 9th at the POSCO Center in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. (Photo by Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] Choi Jung-woo, Chairman of POSCO Group, officially announced that POSCO will not participate in the acquisition battle for Iljin Materials, a copper foil company with a market capitalization of around 3.8 trillion KRW.

Chairman Choi made this statement on the morning of the 9th at the '23rd Steel Day Commemoration Event' held at the POSCO Center in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, attending as the Chairman of the Korea Iron & Steel Association. After the event, while moving to lunch, he responded to reporters' questions about the rumors of acquiring Iljin Materials by saying, "Uh, we already said we are not doing that (acquisition)."

There had been speculation within the investment banking (IB) industry that POSCO Group might join the acquisition battle for Iljin Materials, but this was dismissed. Copper foil is a key battery material used in electric vehicles, with about 30 to 40 kg installed per vehicle. This has attracted significant investment interest from large corporations. SK's related affiliate SKC has shown enthusiasm by selling its existing film business for 1.6 trillion KRW to secure funds for the copper foil business. Financial investment circles had speculated that companies like POSCO, Lotte, and LG might enter the Iljin Materials acquisition battle.

When asked by reporters about the criticism that POSCO is highly dependent on LG and what their investment portfolio in secondary battery materials is, Chairman Choi replied, "We plan to diversify various (businesses) and customers and continue to expand going forward." The day before, the LG consortium, centered on LG Energy Solution, held an investment vision declaration ceremony for the Indonesia 'Grand Package Project' worth 9.8 billion USD (about 12.3 trillion KRW), in which POSCO Group is also participating. When asked if there are business plans for products other than cathode and anode materials, he answered, "We are also researching solid-state batteries, which are future secondary battery materials," before leaving the venue.

Key steel industry leaders attending the event remained silent on labor issues such as industrial accidents (Dongkuk Steel) and special merit bonus negotiations before wage and collective agreements (Hyundai Steel). Dongkuk Steel Vice Chairman Jang Se-wook refrained from commenting on the industrial accident involving the death of a subcontracted irregular worker. When reporters asked if he was present in front of the bereaved families, Vice Chairman Jang remained silent. Since it was a Steel Day event, a staff member requested that related questions be avoided.

Hyundai Steel President Ahn Dong-il responded to a question about how the issue of special merit bonus payments with the labor union was resolved by saying, "The responsible executive is handling it, and it will be resolved well through good consultation." He did not answer questions about measures to address increased transportation costs due to the Cargo Solidarity strike. Hyundai Steel’s labor union has been in conflict with the company since last month, including occupying the president’s office in the Dangjin Steelworks control center starting from the 2nd. Interest in the company’s solution is rising as discussions on special merit bonuses before wage negotiations have stalled.

The event also drew attention with the government’s message urging the steel industry to collaborate with demand industries such as shipbuilding and automobiles to overcome raw material burdens like heavy plate prices. Jang Young-jin, First Vice Minister of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, said in his congratulatory speech, "Although the steel industry is relatively prosperous recently, demand industries such as shipbuilding and automobiles face various difficulties, so it is necessary to build a partnership relationship where the steel industry and demand companies can grow together." Chairman Choi said in his commemorative speech, "Based on the infinite value and potential of steel, the steel industry should unite efforts to develop together through a beautiful partnership with demand industries." Additionally, Chairman Choi conveyed messages requesting government support expansion for supply chain diversification, prevention of major industrial accidents, and carbon-neutral technologies such as CCUS (Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage).

On the same day, POSCO, Hyundai Steel, IBK Industrial Bank, and the Korea Iron & Steel Association signed an agreement to establish a 150 billion KRW 'Steel ESG Win-Win Fund.' This fund will help small and medium-sized steel companies receive loans of up to 2 billion KRW per company for up to two years. A preferential interest rate 1.43 percentage points lower than the market rate will be applied, reducing interest costs by about 4.2 billion KRW over two years.

Meanwhile, about 150 people, including Chairman Choi Jung-woo, Vice Minister Jang Young-jin, President Ahn Dong-il, Vice Chairman Jang Se-wook, POSCO Vice Chairman Kim Hak-dong, KG Steel Chairman Kwak Jae-sun, SeAH Steel Vice Chairman Lee Hwi-ryeong, and TCC Steel Vice Chairman Cho Seok-hee, as well as the Korea Iron & Steel Association chairpersons and Steel Day awardees, attended the event.

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