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The Australian corporate body of POSCO, Korea's largest steel maker, has donated 400 million won ($343,000) to the Australian Red Cross to help in combatting the fires engulfing much of the country.
"The Australia fire has evolved into a national catastrophe and we plan to help Australians in their early recovery and share their grievances," POSCO Chairman Choi Jeong-woo said Tuesday. "Since POSCO's establishment, Australia has been a key investor and supplier of raw materials and we hope the fire can be extinguished as soon as possible."
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| POSCO Chairman Choi Jeong-woo. |
Since his inauguration in 2018, Choi has been chairman of the cooperation committee.
The deadly fires have been raging since September, scorching nearly 20 million acres and burning more than 1,500 homes. Twenty-five people have been killed as of Tuesday; and half a billion animals have been wiped out in New South Wales (NSW) alone.
A third of koalas in NSW and their habitat are estimated to have been killed and destroyed.
In late December, the air quality in Sydney measured 11 times the "hazardous" level due to smoke from the fires.
Australian fire service is racing to get people to safety because the fires could keep burning for months.
Persistent heat and drought are fanning the flames, with many experts pointing to climate change as a key factor for the intensity of the natural disaster.
