"Measures to Foster Steel Scrap and Promotion of Hydrogen Reduction Steelmaking Demonstration"… Commemoration Ceremony of the '25th Steel Day'

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Korea Iron & Steel Association announced that on the 3rd, they held the ‘25th Steel Day’ commemorative event at the POSCO Center in Seoul, attended by about 200 steel industry officials including Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Andeok-geun, POSCO Chairman and Korea Iron & Steel Association Chairman Jang In-hwa, Hyundai Steel President Seo Kang-hyun, KG Steel Chairman Kwak Jae-sun, and SeAH Steel Vice Chairman Lee Hwi-ryeong.

‘Steel Day’ commemorates the day on June 9, 1973, when the first molten iron was produced at the blast furnace of POSCO’s Pohang Steelworks, with commemorative ceremonies held since 2000. This year, since June 9 fell on a Sunday, the ceremony was held earlier on this day.

In his congratulatory speech, Minister Andeok-geun stated that to achieve carbon neutrality and stabilize the supply chain in the steel industry, the ministry will jointly promote with the industry △ the establishment of a ‘Steel Scrap Industry Development Plan’ to secure iron resources △ demonstration of hydrogen reduction steelmaking technology △ active response to steel trade barriers △ improvement of steel investment conditions.

At the ceremony, the steel industry also held a signing ceremony for the ‘Steel ESG Win-Win Fund.’ The Steel ESG Win-Win Fund is a private fund established and operated since 2020 by POSCO, Hyundai Steel, and Industrial Bank of Korea to enhance the competitiveness and support decarbonization of small and medium-sized steel companies and their partners. Through this agreement, the fund size will expand from the existing 150 billion KRW to 200 billion KRW. From this year, support will be available not only for operating funds but also for facility funds, and steel scrap companies will also be included as beneficiaries.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy awarded government honors, including industrial medals, to 31 individuals who contributed to the development and mutual growth of the steel industry at the ceremony. Ryu Ho-chang, Chairman of Hangum, received the Silver Tower Industrial Medal for his contributions to the localization of high-carbon steel and the development of materials technology for automobiles and shipbuilding.

Lee Sang-ho, Executive Director of POSCO, received the Bronze Tower Industrial Medal for promoting national prestige through establishing a locally optimized system at the integrated steel mill in Indonesia.

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