"Abandoning Unnecessary Practices and Embracing Digital Transformation" Advice from a Traditional Salesman to His Juniors

Lee Gye-in, President of POSCO International, emphasized on the 25th that digital transformation is crucial to provide solutions needed by humanity.

Lee officially began his duties after being appointed as CEO at the regular shareholders' meeting held that day. He joined the company’s predecessor, Daewoo Corporation, in 1989 and has worked across various departments within the company, making him a well-rounded general trading company professional. He was promoted to president in last year’s POSCO Group personnel reshuffle and has now been appointed as CEO.

With Jang In-hwa, Chairman of POSCO Group, emphasizing the importance of the materials business at the group level upon his inauguration, Lee was entrusted with a significant role in realizing that vision. Earlier, on the company’s 57th anniversary on the 22nd, he stressed the importance of creating a company that young people want to work for and that is trusted by stakeholders.

He particularly highlighted digital transformation. General trading companies, which are primarily based on trading, are considered a challenging sector for digital transformation due to the nature of their work. Although things have changed compared to the past, individual know-how, which is still difficult to digitize, is recognized as an important asset.

He stated, "We must convert the knowledge accumulated through POSCO International’s global network of over 100 locations and business experience across all industrial sectors into big data, and boldly discard unnecessary tasks and processes that are done out of habit. Let us expand our business by integrating the company’s products, services, and customer experiences with digital technology."

The company announced plans to enhance corporate value based on its core businesses, including energy, steel, and food, which are key strategic sectors. The energy business aims to complete the liquefied natural gas (LNG) value chain and establish it as the group’s third growth engine through synergy. They plan to invest 1 trillion won to triple production at their Australian subsidiary by next year and expand the storage tank capacity in Gwangyang.

The steel business plans to strengthen its role as the group’s direct trading arm to increase overseas sales of group products. The electric vehicle parts business, specifically the drive motor core, will begin construction of its second plants in Poland and Mexico this year, aiming to establish a production system capable of manufacturing over 7 million units worldwide by 2030. Additionally, the company plans to import 1.8 million tons of food domestically this year and start construction in the first half of the year on a palm oil refinery jointly established with GS Caltex in Indonesia.

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