[Exclusive] POSCO Chairman Candidate Kwon Young-soo: "I Just Want to Serve the Country for Exactly 3 Years"

Kwon Young-soo, former Vice Chairman of LG Energy Solution and one of the 'finalists (top 6 candidates)' for the next chairman of POSCO, reportedly expressed his ambition to those around him by saying, "I want to do it for just three years for the country." This is the first time Kwon's motivation for applying has been confirmed.

A representative from Kwon Young-soo's side said in a phone interview with Asia Economy on the 1st, "Kwon is approaching the POSCO chairman selection process with the thought of using his capabilities for the country, especially for POSCO, a company with great influence and importance in the industry," adding, "He wants to serve for exactly three years with the sense of mission like the late Chairman Park Tae-joon and with his final passion."

He continued, "(Kwon) has no selfish motives but does have ambition as a manager," and said, "(Our industry) is fully exposed to issues such as supply chains, ESG (environment, social, governance), and the US-China conflict, and he wants to try to solve these problems as a manager."

Former Vice Chairman Kwon Young-soo of LG Energy Solution. Photo by LG Energy Solution

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The POSCO group is currently evaluated to be at an important turning point. The representative said, "POSCO has done well in the steel industry so far, but in the era of carbon neutrality, it needs to envision the future of steel and shift direction to optimize steel technology," adding, "Kwon intends to embrace existing personnel and use the achievements POSCO has made so far to serve the country."

He said, "If POSCO wants to strengthen its future business and new business portfolio and introduce ways to operate the group under a holding company system, Kwon will be chosen," adding, "If the goal is to strengthen POSCO's existing steel competitiveness, someone else would be selected. This chairman selection is a test of how the POSCO board and POSCO internally view the future of POSCO."

Regarding the POSCO CEO Candidate Recommendation Committee's (CRC) decision on the finalists, he viewed it as maintaining independence and neutrality. "They showed an appropriate balance with three internal and three external candidates, and the exclusion of OBs (former executives) who were frequently mentioned in the media is rather a sign that the CRC made an independent decision," he said.

However, regarding the fact that most finalists except Kwon are candidates from the steel industry, he emphasized the competitiveness of the next chairman candidate by saying, "(Most candidates) are people who understand the existing steel industry and have worked there for a long time, whereas Kwon is somewhat uniquely the only one who has managed a group comprehensively, including batteries and new materials."

On the morning of the 27th, Kwon Young-soo, CEO of LG Energy Solution, delivered a commemorative speech at the ceremony celebrating LG Energy Solution's new listing on the KOSPI, held at the Korea Exchange in Yeouido, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

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The POSCO CRC confirmed and announced the list of six internal and external candidates as 'finalists' for in-depth interviews the day before: former LG Energy Solution Vice Chairman Kwon Young-soo, current Korea National Oil Corporation President Kim Dong-seop, POSCO Holdings Future Technology Research Institute Director Kim Ji-yong, former Hyundai Steel Vice Chairman Woo Yoo-cheol, former POSCO President Jang In-hwa, and former POSCO Holdings President Jeon Jung-sun. The CRC will conduct in-depth interviews on the 7th and 8th of this month and finalize and announce one final candidate through an additional meeting and an extraordinary board meeting on the afternoon of the 8th.

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