Steelmakers to Pour 18.7 Tln won into Facility Investments Over 3 Years

MKE Minister calls for coping with greenhouse gas emissions reduction

CEOs of Korean steelmakers pledged to set aside a combined 18.7 trillion won in facility investments for the next three years, including 6.9 trillion won for this year at a New Year’s gathering at POSCO Center in Seoul on Jan. 7. They also agreed to achieve a target of exporting $25 billion worth of steel products for 2010.
Approximately 200 people from various walks of life, including the steel industry, government and academic circles, attended the meeting. Among those on hand at the gathering were Minister of Knowledge Economy Choi Kyung-hwan; Cho Seok, deputy minister for industry at the Ministry of Knowledge Economy (MKE); Chung Jae-hoon, director-general for core industries at the MKE; POSCO Chairman & CEO Chung Joon-yang, concurrently chairman of the Korea Iron & Steel Association (KOSA); Park Seung-ha, vice chairman of Hyundai Steel; Chang Sae-joo, chairman of Dongkuk Steel; Han Kwang-hee, vice chairman of Dongbu Steel; Kim Won-gab, vice chairman of Hyundai Hysco; Lee Wun-hyeong, chairman of SeAH Steel; Hong Sun-chull, president of Union Steel; Sohn Bong-rak, chairman of TCC Steel; POSCO President Choi Jong-tae; and Lee Seung-woo, director of the Metals & Chemicals Division at the MKE.
In a speech, MKE Minister Choi said he praised the domestic steel industry’s efforts to tide over economic difficulties by pouring a record high of investments and promoting collaboration for co-prosperity between large companies and SMEs during 2009.
He referred to the construction of Hyundai Steel’s first integrated steel mill that was fired up on Jan. 5, the dedication of Dongbu Steel’s electric furnace steel mill and the construction of the Dangjin Plateworks of Dongkuk Steel.
The domestic steelmaking industry made a record high of 10.1 trillion won in facility investments during 2009, a 42.3 percent jump from 2008. KOSA said Korean steelmakers plan to earmark 6.9 trillion won for facility investments in 2010, particularly for constructing environmentally-friendly facilities.
Minister Choi urged the steelmakers to push forward with investments as planned for this year, thus contributing to recovering a virtuous cycle of investments, employment and growth while calling for their efforts to strengthen their presence in foreign markets.
The ministry also told the steelmakers to proactively reduce greenhouse gas emissions and preserve energy in keeping with more stringent environmental regulations.
KOSA Chairman Chung said in a speech, “The domestic steelmaking industry will have to grapple with such woes as a global glut, securing raw materials and environmental issues from a long-term perspective.”
He noted that the global steel market faces a glut and Korean steelmakers will have to compete with such countries as China. The KOSA chairman warned, however, that an increase in production capacity following the expansion of steelmaking facilities could lead to cutthroat competition among Korean steelmakers.
Chung urged the steelmakers to make 2010 a year for putting into action environmental management, saying that the Korean steelmaking industry needs to aggressively cope with environmental issues it cannot avoid by translating a crisis into opportunities.
Chung also appealed for the steelmakers to make this year a year of translating into action co-existence management. He added that lately, the competition paradigm has changed much, departing from the past’s competition among individual companies towards competition among companies and networks, including business partners and all interested parties, and mutual confidence between large companies and SMES will shift from co-existence into a greater asset of common development. nw

MKE Minister Choi Kyung-hwan poses with other participants of a New Year’s gathering for the Korean steel industry, including POSCO CEO Chung Joon-yang, concurrently chairman of the Korea Iron & Steel Association, on Jan. 7.