POSCO Appoints 'Master of the Year'... 28 Selected Since 2015

Transfer of World-Class Technology Expertise

POSCO announced on the 12th that it has selected Seo Jeong-hoon, Manager of the Pohang Safety and Disaster Prevention Group, Lee Won-jong, Team Leader of the Pohang EIC Technology Department, and Jeong Won-chae, Team Leader of the Gwangyang Ironmaking Equipment Department, as POSCO Masters of the Year.

The POSCO Master system is a program that selects employees who possess world-class technical skills and character to develop and pass on steelmaking technology. Since its introduction in 2015, 28 individuals have been selected to date. Selected masters receive special rank promotions, a reward of 50 million KRW, and their names and achievements are permanently enshrined in the Hall of Fame.

POSCO has selected Seo Jeong-hoon, Manager of the Pohang Safety and Disaster Prevention Group, Lee Won-jong, Team Leader of the Pohang EIC Technology Department, and Jeong Won-chae, Team Leader of the Gwangyang Ironmaking Equipment Department, as this year's POSCO Masters. From the left in the photo are Kim Seong-ho, Chairman of the POSCO Labor Union; Lee Si-woo, CEO of POSCO; Manager Seo Jeong-hoon; Team Leader Lee Won-jong; Team Leader Jeong Won-chae; and Lee Bon-seok, Company-wide Worker Representative of the POSCO Labor-Management Council. Photo by POSCO

This year’s selected master, Seo Jeong-hoon, is the first to be chosen from the safety department rather than operations or maintenance. He joined in 1990 and has worked extensively in the Pohang Steelworks rolling equipment and innovation-related organizations. Since 2015, he has been with the Safety and Disaster Prevention Group, establishing POSCO’s process safety management system, contributing to POSCO becoming the first in the steel industry to achieve the highest P grade in process safety management evaluation in 2020.

Lee Won-jong, who joined Pohang Steelworks in 1985, is an expert in the rolling field and a specialist in PLC (Programmable Logic Controller). Through customized control system design improvements and operations for automatic control of rolling processes such as coil tension and shape control, he has greatly contributed to productivity and product quality enhancement.

Jeong Won-chae, a veteran who has worked exclusively in the heat treatment maintenance field for 34 years since joining in 1990, is recognized as the top technician related to CDQ (Coke Dry Quenching) equipment. In particular, he has made significant contributions to improving heat treatment operation competitiveness and creating a safe workplace through innovative electrical equipment improvements.

They contribute to enhancing the company’s technological competitiveness through in-house expert skill transfer, new employee training, special lectures at the company university, and equipment management lectures for partner and client companies. After retirement, they will have the opportunity to work as technical consultants to pass on their skills and know-how to younger generations.

Si-woo Lee, CEO of POSCO, stated, "Being a POSCO Master is the highest honor in the production technology field, awarded not for short-term achievements but for those who have steadily built their capabilities in one area over a long period. I hope the newly selected masters will lead the way as POSCO advances as a technology-driven company."

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