POSCO Group Chairman Chang In-hwa, right, greets an employee working at POSCO's hot rolling mill in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, Friday. Courtesy of POSCO Holdings

Chang In-hwa, the new chairman of POSCO Group, embarked on a 100-day initiative to visit a number of the company's production sites and meet with employees as he believes that the key to becoming a top-tier firm lies in the workplace and its employees, the steel and battery maker said Sunday.

Chang was appointed as the chairman of the group at the shareholders' meeting on Thursday and will serve a three-year term.

The day after his appointment, on Friday, Chang began his on-site management initiative by visiting POSCO's second hot rolling mill in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, to encourage the employees, the group said.

"This visit marks the first step in Chairman Chang's initiative to personally hear from employees at key sites of the group, such as Pohang, Gwangyang and Songdo, over 100 days," POSCO Holdings, the holding company of the group, said. "This is to immediately improve any necessary matters to create a company that employees can trust. The meeting was focused on having informal and small-group discussions with employees who have the most knowledge of the equipment and technology."

The hot rolling mill is a core plant of the group's, processing 5 million tons of steel slabs, which accounts for 33 percent of the annual production of Pohang steel mills.

POSCO Group Chairman Chang In-hwa, second from right, talks with employees during his visit to the group's steel mill in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, Friday. Courtesy of POCO Holdings

When Typhoon Hinnamnor hit the Pohang plant in 2022, causing severe damage and halting production, the plant was restored to normalcy within 100 days of the damage, thanks to the employees' dedicated efforts and its top-class maintenance technology.

"I am proud and grateful for the employees' dedication and united spirit in overcoming an unprecedented crisis and restoring normalcy despite the challenges. I wanted to express my gratitude first for turning a harsh ordeal into new hope," the chairman told employees during his visit.

"The passion and unity our employees showed during the flood recovery process are the true strength of POSCO. I will not forget your efforts," Chang added. "I believe that the solution to becoming a top-tier company lies in the workplace and the employees."

The new chief's next move will be to visit Gwangyang in South Jeolla Province, where POSCO's Gwangyang steel mill and battery material affiliate, POSCO Future M, are located. He will visit the coastal city on March 26.

In his inauguration speech, Chairman Chang emphasized his intention to strengthen the competitiveness of the group's core businesses: steel and battery materials.

The group added that the chairman visited the labor union office to call for joint efforts between labor and management to create an advanced labor-management culture based on trust before his first site visit.