POSCO's New Chairman

Former Pres. Chung Joon-yang to take over as chairman and CEO upon approval by board on Feb. 27

President Chung Joon-yang of POSCO Engineering and Construction Co. has been named to head POSCO as chairman & CEO, taking over from former Chairman Lee Ku-taek, who expressed his intention to resign on Jan. 15.
The POSCO CEO Recommendation Committee picked him as the only candidate to the post on Jan. 29. He will assume the office officially following approval by the board of directors on Feb. 27, which is preceded by a shareholders' meeting the day before. Chung will serve a full three-year term, not the remaining term of his predecessor, as decided by the board of directors during a meeting on Feb. 6.
Like his predecessor, the new CEO is an engineer and a career POSCO man who has put in over 30 years with the steel giant, taking charge of various key posts, especially the development of steel-making technologies. Positions he has held since joining the steel maker in 1975, soon after his graduation from the Seoul National University School of Engineering with a degree in industrial education, include head of the steel production technology section, manager of the steel production and steel production technology departments. He also gained valuable experience on how global steel markets work as department manager and director of the POSCO EU Office in Brussels in 1999, where he also refined his foreign language skills.
In 2002, he was promoted to director in his 27th year with POSCO and was assigned to the Gwangyang Steel Complex as deputy manager of the steel work's steel wire production unit. He was made managing director in 2004 before being promoted to vice president and then to president of POSCO under former chairman Lee in 2007.
The new CEO has been given much of the credit for the localization of steel plate production technologies to make Korea a base to produce 6.5 million tons of the steel plates that go into luxury automobiles through the installation of new facilities and the introduction of new technologies for steel plate production at POSCO. Chung won the Industrial Medal Gold Tower from the government in recognition of his contribution to the development of the FINEX steel production technology, which does not require blast furnaces to produce crude steel, a technology unique to POSCO.
Chung, born in 1948, is fluent in English and Japanese and is expected to be a big help in navigating POSCO through the rough waters created by the global economic downturn. In the meantime, POSCO has been doing all it can to cope with the global economic downtown. The steel giant has decided to focus on the technology development and innovative activities, taking advantage of its plan to cut steel production.
The steel maker will take the opportunity to cut the costs by developing the technologies to make it possible to use low cost fuel as well as raw material, scrap iron in this case. POSCO has decided to suspend the operation of the facilities with low energy effect and boost the use of side products from steelmaking and try to localilze the maintenance material.
Under this plan, the steel maker will adjust the repair period to be based on steel production from the regular periods.
The Gwangyang steel complex in Gwangyang, South Jeolla Province, has been working on cost reduction and an effective control of expenses at its plants. The steel complex will operate mini-mills which have become competitive due to the fall in the prices of scrap iron.
The complex has been trying to adjust to using technologies to reduce costs.
POSCO will focus on the development of steel production technologies to produce higher grade steel products and steel products that have been difficult to produce. POSCO will also inspect the key steel production equipment including blast furnaces to be ready to produce expanded quantity of steel in the future when the business climate improves. The steel giant has also decided to make best use of the idle time for employees when the steel production is suspended to reduce steel production to innovative activities and others to strengthen the execution of their daily duties.
The steel maker targets to reduce the costs by 950 billion won, followed by savings of 730 billion won in 2008 and 820 billion won in 2007. nw

Chairman & CEO designate of POSCO Chung Joon-yang