POSCO Disciplines 6 Responsible for Sexual Ethics Violations with Severe Penalties... "Comprehensive Measures to Be Established"

Disciplinary Committee Meeting Scheduled for 4 Employees Involved in Incident

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Hyung-gil] POSCO has recently taken severe disciplinary action against six executives in connection with a sexual ethics violation incident and has decided to discipline related employees as well.

On the 28th, POSCO stated, "With the help of external professional organizations, we plan to thoroughly re-examine the sexual ethics-related systems and policies from the ground up and promptly establish comprehensive countermeasures."

In particular, for four employees involved in the incident, regardless of the ongoing police investigation results, a personnel committee will be held on the 1st of next month to determine the level of disciplinary action based on the results of an internal investigation conducted immediately after the incident was recognized.

Kim Hak-dong, Vice Chairman of POSCO, sent an email to all executives and employees expressing deep remorse for the company's serious responsibility regarding the recent sexual ethics violation incident, sincerely apologizing to the affected employees, and outlining a renewal plan to eradicate sexual ethics violations.

Vice Chairman Kim said, "It is very regrettable and apologetic that the company and its employees, who have made great efforts to practice ethical management, are currently perceived negatively by the outside world," adding, "We will deeply reflect on the parts that have been neglected or insufficient and plan to make bold improvements."

He continued, "We will sincerely undergo the Ministry of Employment and Labor's official investigation and the diagnosis of employment equality organizational culture, and through credible external professional organizations, we will closely assess the awareness level of executives and employees regarding internal sexual ethics," emphasizing, "We will establish fundamental comprehensive measures to foster an organizational culture that respects employees."

Before establishing comprehensive measures, POSCO plans to apply a strong "personnel action first, investigation later" policy regardless of rank or position in the event of future sexual misconduct, and hold not only the involved parties but also managers strictly accountable for all sexual ethics violations.

Additionally, POSCO will immediately implement measures such as ▲designation and operation of internal and external legal and psychological counseling experts and medical support according to the victim's preference ▲sexual ethics organizational diagnosis by external professional organizations ▲diagnosis and improvement of independent workspaces for minority employees by external experts ▲operation of a gender equality organizational culture advisory group ▲and rapid initial response and victim protection through the establishment of a hotline for top management.

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