POSCO "67% of Power Supplied to Rolling Area"... Chairman Chey Jong-woo Also Participates in Weekend Recovery

Weekend POSCO and Partner Companies 15,000 Employees Recovery Work
Choi Jung-woo, POSCO Group Chairman, Participates in Underground Facility Restoration
"Prevented Greater Damage through Strong Preemptive Measures," Emphasized

Choi Jung-woo, Chairman of POSCO Group (first on the right), is working with employees to remove soil underground in the rolling area (heavy plate mill) of the Pohang Steelworks, which suffered significant flood damage on the 17th. Photo by POSCO

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seoyoon] POSCO announced on the 18th that the drainage work at the rolling mill of the Pohang Steelworks is in its final stages, and that power supply to the rolling area has reached 67%.

POSCO stated, "We conducted restoration activities even on weekends to resume normal operations within three months," adding, "Over the past two days, a total of 15,000 employees from POSCO and its partners (accumulated over the weekend) participated in the restoration work at the Pohang Steelworks."

Choi Jeong-woo, Chairman of the POSCO Group, also visited the Pohang Steelworks on the 17th to join the restoration efforts. In particular, he visited the underground facility restoration site of the thick plate mill in the rolling area, which suffered severe flooding damage due to the overflow of Naengcheon Stream, and helped remove mud and silt to support the recovery work.

During the restoration activities, Chairman Choi shared lunch boxes with employees on site. Oh Sang-woon, head of the thick plate division at Pohang Steelworks, said, "When we first visited the site after the flooding for restoration work, seeing the underground facilities filled with silt and in complete disarray brought tears to my eyes. All my colleagues felt the same way," adding, "Since joining the company, I have cared for these facilities as if they were my own body, tightening and cleaning them, so I am determined to restore them as soon as possible."

Chairman Choi also said, "Seeing the employees' dedication and the current situation breaks my heart. Throughout the restoration work, my chest felt heavy," and added, "Although we suffered great damage due to a natural disaster, I hope everyone continues the restoration efforts with a sense of mission to minimize the impact on the national economy." He continued, "At times like this, we must demonstrate POSCO's resilience," emphasizing, "Safety must always be the top priority during restoration activities, and everyone must strictly adhere to safety regulations."

POSCO is currently concentrating all available personnel and equipment on removing mud and silt from the underground facilities in the rolling area. Following the restart of the 3rd Electric Steel Sheet Plant on the 15th, partial operations of the 2nd Electric Steel Sheet Plant also began on the 17th.

POSCO began full-scale restoration work on the 7th, following flooding caused by Typhoon Hinnamnor on the 6th. From the 7th to the 18th, a total of approximately 80,000 people from POSCO, its group companies, and partners have participated in the restoration efforts.

POSCO has decided that all affiliates within the group will participate in the Pohang Steelworks restoration for the time being. From the 19th until the end of September, about 3,000 group employees plan to visit the steelworks site to contribute even a small part to the restoration activities.

On the 17th, Pohang Steelworks employees are taking a short break during recovery activities. Photo by POSCO

Meanwhile, POSCO explained that, anticipating Typhoon Hinnamnor as an ultra-powerful typhoon, it established much stronger preventive measures than usual typhoon countermeasures, which helped prevent greater damage. For the first time since the Pohang Steelworks began operations, POSCO took the extraordinary step of halting all processes before the typhoon's arrival to prevent secondary accidents such as fires, explosions, and casualties caused by total power outages and flooding.

If the entire process had not been stopped in advance, sudden power outages could have caused the blast furnace's blower equipment to stop, leading molten iron to flow backward and potentially cause fires and explosions. In the steelmaking plant, the ladles holding molten iron could have been shaken, spilling molten iron onto the factory floor and causing large-scale fires or explosions. In the rolling mill, slabs (semi-finished steel products) inside the reheating furnace could have warped, and the furnace's refractory lining could have been damaged, making it difficult to resume operations for an extended period.

POSCO also emphasized that if the motors in the underground rolling mill, which were submerged, had been operating, they would have been irreparably damaged, making the restoration of the rolling mill uncertain. The flooding damage was minimal before the overflow of Naengcheon Stream, but a sudden rapid overflow occurred at dawn, causing a massive amount of sediment and river water to rush into the steelworks all at once, submerging factories up to human height and triggering an unprecedented crisis of total power outage across the steelworks.

Thanks to this strong preemptive measure of halting all processes, POSCO was able to prevent greater damage, and with the full efforts of its employees, plans to gradually resume normal operations of most of the rolling mill within three months.

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