POSCO Restarts 3 Blast Furnaces... Choi Jeong-woo Thanks Employees for Their Dedicated Efforts

Sequential Operation of 3rd Furnace on 10th and 4th, 2nd Furnaces on 12th
Drainage in Rolling Line Most Damaged by Naengcheon Flooding
Chairman Choi Jung-woo Encourages Staff and Participates in Recovery Efforts on 12th

POSCO Pohang Steelworks resumed operation of Blast Furnace No. 3 on the 10th, followed by the sequential normal operation of Blast Furnace No. 4 and Blast Furnace No. 2 on the 12th. The photo shows the production of steel semi-finished products, slabs, at the No. 2 Continuous Casting Plant.

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Hyung-gil] POSCO, which suffered flood damage from Typhoon ‘Hinnamnor,’ is accelerating recovery and resumption of operations. It has succeeded in restarting three blast furnaces at the Pohang Steelworks and has begun production at some steelmaking and continuous casting facilities.

However, major facilities producing steel products are still submerged in muddy water, making it impossible to guarantee when normal operations will resume. There are concerns that normalization may not be achieved until next year, which could deal a significant blow to domestic industries such as shipbuilding and automotive sectors.

According to POSCO and related industries on the 13th, POSCO resumed operations of blast furnaces 2, 3, and 4 at the Pohang Steelworks through overnight recovery work during the Chuseok holiday. Following the restart of blast furnace 3 on the 10th, blast furnaces 4 and 2 sequentially began normal operations on the 12th.

From the 12th, efforts focused on restoring steelmaking facilities that remove impurities from molten iron produced in the blast furnaces and continuous casting facilities that solidify liquid iron. Four out of seven converters in the steelmaking plant and four out of eight continuous casting machines were restarted.

Although the blast furnaces have resumed operation, full normalization remains distant. Especially, the rolling line, which suffered the greatest damage due to flooding near Naengcheon, is expected to require a considerable amount of time for restoration work. Considering equipment and material inspections after recovery, it is anticipated that production will normalize only next year.

A POSCO official explained, "Drainage work for the rolling line is about 80% complete," adding, "The first hot rolling mill and the third heavy plate mill, which require priority operation, have completed drainage and power has been connected, but accurate damage assessment and plans for restoration or operation of the rolling line can only be established once underground facilities of the rolling line are fully restored."

Choi Jung-woo, Chairman of POSCO Group (second from the right in the front row), visited the Pohang Steelworks on the 12th to inspect the electrical steel sheet plant, where drainage and mud removal work are in full progress.

POSCO plans to transfer some semi-finished products from the Pohang Steelworks to the Gwangyang Steelworks to begin product manufacturing. By adjusting repair schedules and switching the Gwangyang Steelworks to a maximum production system, it will respond to urgent customer requests. From this day, an emergency shipment response team will operate to quickly ship available inventory.

However, it is expected that normal product manufacturing will inevitably face disruptions. The shipbuilding, automotive, and construction industries, which have relied on products from the Pohang Steelworks, are within the affected scope. Pohang Steelworks’ crude steel production was 16.85 million tons last year, accounting for 35% of the country’s total production.

On the 12th, Choi Jeong-woo, Chairman of POSCO Group (POSCO Holdings), visited the Pohang Steelworks and said, "The most important thing in recovery activities is safety, and I ask that recovery work be carried out thoroughly based on established procedures without rushing." He added, "I deeply appreciate the dedicated efforts of employees who protected and saved the steelworks from flooding caused by the Naengcheon overflow and during the recovery process."

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