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New POSCO chairman to heed outside opinion

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By Nam Hyun-woo

POSCO chairman nominee Choi Jeong-woo
POSCO chairman nominee Choi Jeong-woo
POSCO chairman nominee Choi Jeong-woo will listen to opinions not only from experts but also from the general public so he can make decisions about his management roadmap, the company said Wednesday.

According to POSCO, it will receive opinions through its and its affiliates' websites and email (loveletter@posco.com). The company said any opinions from employees, shareholders, clients, partner companies and others will be welcomed and reviewed by experts at the POSCO Research Institute.

"POSCO's accomplishments in the past 50 years were possible because of the support of the public, residents of Pohang and Gwangyang, shareholders, clients and partner companies," Choi said in a statement. Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, and Gwangyang, South Jeolla Province, are the two base cities for the steel giant.

"Before embarking on POSCO's next 50 years, we would like to hear from all of these people about what the company should fix or improve. On my 100th day in office, I will announce a detailed reform package reflecting those opinions."

According to a POSCO official, this will be the first time in the company's 50-year history for the CEO to consider the opinions of the general public, which appears to be in line with Choi's recognition that POSCO must make reforms and innovate in order for it to survive for the next 50 years.

POSCO said it will receive opinions through the end of September and pledged to reflect them in Choi's reform plan.

Choi was nominated as the chairman of POSCO in a June 23 board meeting. Following the nomination, Choi will likely be appointed as the head of World No. 5 steelmaker during the shareholder meeting scheduled for July 27.

His nomination was widely interpreted as POSCO's efforts to embrace fresh leadership and diversify its business portfolio, as he has spent most of his POSCO career with the company's non-steel businesses and led POSCO Chemtech, an affiliate producing materials for secondary batteries, before his nomination.

Also, he will become the first CEO in the steelmaker's history who has no background in engineering, as well as breaking the custom of having graduates of Seoul National University Materials Science and Engineering Department take the chairmanship of the group.

In 2015, Choi headed POSCO's Value Management Office, the group's de-facto control tower for large-scale restructuring, and removed unnecessary groups.

After the restructuring, the number of domestic POSCO affiliates declined to 38 in January this year from 71 in 2012. The number of foreign affiliates also shrank to 124 from 181 during the same period. POSCO said the estimated savings from the restructuring was 7 trillion won ($6.3 billion).


Nam Hyun-woo namhw@koreatimes.co.kr


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