[Column] The Self-Inflicted Problems of the National Pension Service

On the 3rd, when news broke that Choi Jung-woo, chairman of the POSCO Group, was excluded from the internal candidate pool for the CEO position, interpretations about the background were divided both inside and outside the company. With the CEO Candidate Recommendation Committee not disclosing any details related to Chairman Choi, rumors circulated that he either "voluntarily did not apply as a candidate" or "was eliminated based on the committee's evaluation." The fact that there are various speculations about the exclusion of the current chairman from the candidate list is clearly unusual.

This is largely influenced by the National Pension Service publicly raising concerns about the POSCO CEO appointment process at the end of last month. Chairman Choi had not officially stated his position on a third term. However, since the chairman of the National Pension Service pointed out procedural issues, it naturally led to speculation that this influence might have caused his exclusion. The company tried to downplay the situation as a mere coincidence, but the explanation lacked persuasiveness.

Within the group, the prevailing expectation was that Chairman Choi would challenge for a third term, but there was also a significant sentiment that he might not. This is because overlapping with year-end personnel changes could cause a lame-duck problem, and with attention focused on who the next chairman would be, internal politics could intensify and destabilize the organization. It is also said that unlike previous chairmen who officially announced their decision to forgo reappointment, Chairman Choi did not make such a declaration this time.

The National Pension Service, as the largest shareholder of POSCO Holdings, maintains that it has fulfilled its duty to speak out. Regardless, while their intended goal seems to have been achieved, it is difficult to shake the impression that they stirred up unnecessary trouble. Even if Chairman Choi had applied as a candidate, it is highly likely he would have been filtered out by the strict evaluation promised by the recommendation committee.

In particular, the criticism that the National Pension Service exerted undue influence on a private company has become unavoidable. As is well known, Chairman Choi had discord with the presidential office for over a year since the Yoon Seok-yeol administration took office. After the launch of the Yoon government, he was completely excluded from the presidential overseas economic delegation, sparking controversy over being sidelined.

Historically, POSCO chairmen have stepped down coinciding with changes in government. Should we take some consolation in the fact that Chairman Choi is the first CEO to complete his full term? It is bitter to see that the system that shakes the governance of private companies whenever the administration changes seems unchanged.

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