[New Year's Message] Jang In-hwa, Chairman of POSCO Group, "Turning Current Challenges into Opportunities"

"Group's Core Business in Serious Crisis
...Safety First as Foundation for Sustainable Growth"

Jang In-hwa, Chairman of POSCO Group, stated, "It is time to turn the current challenges into opportunities for a new leap forward."

In his New Year's address on the 2nd, Chairman Jang said, "We must calmly recognize that not only overseas but also domestically, amid increasing policy volatility, the group’s core businesses including steel, secondary battery materials, and E&C are facing such severe crises that they must contemplate survival."

He emphasized, "As we start a new year, we are facing an urgent situation more than ever, having to simultaneously consider today's survival and tomorrow's growth due to trade contraction caused by great power rivalry and sluggish domestic and international demand industries."

Jang In-hwa, Chairman of POSCO Group. Photo by POSCO Holdings

In particular, he forecasted that in the upcoming Trump 2.0 era, global trade barriers will rise and tariff wars will intensify, further narrowing overseas sales channels. He also expressed concerns that the group’s profit base could weaken if a high-cost structure solidifies due to oversupply from China and the depreciation of the Korean won.

However, Chairman Jang noted, "Since these difficulties are conditions equally faced by competitors, the future of each company will greatly differ depending on how wisely they navigate the current situation," and revealed key tasks to be prioritized next year.

Chairman Jang identified safety as the top priority. He urged employees to comply with safety, stating, "Safety at all group business sites is the most important value that cannot be compromised for anything, and robust facilities are the source of our business competitiveness. We must never forget this even for a moment."

He pointed to securing absolute technological superiority as the core of POSCO Group’s competitiveness. Chairman Jang stressed, "By selecting key research and development (R&D) areas and concentrating capabilities, we must overcome challenges in each business and present POSCO Group’s unique solutions to lead future market changes."

In the steel business, he said that sustainable competitiveness must be secured through structural innovation of costs. He emphasized that with high costs caused by a strong exchange rate becoming a permanent factor, such innovation must precede survival.

Regarding the secondary battery materials business, he stated that the chasm (temporary demand slowdown) should be taken as an opportunity to enhance competitiveness by proactively securing high-quality resources and quickly stabilizing operating corporations.

Finally, Chairman Jang said, "POSCO Group, which has built the foundation of Korea’s industry, expanded its business areas, and written a history of growth, stands at a critical turning point to leap into a top-tier company beyond the current crisis," and emphasized, "Let us prioritize safety, prepare for the future with a long-term perspective rather than immediate results, and build a foundation for sustainable growth under any circumstances."

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