South Korean conglomerate POSCO Group has recently announced a presidential reshuffle on Feb. 21. This move includes the replacement of CEOs of its major affiliates, such as POSCO and POSCO Future M, just over a month before a shareholders’ meeting to appoint a new chairman, Jang In-hwa. The ‘Jang In-hwa regime’, expected to start in a month, is recognized for its emphasis on stability and professionalism. Previously, in December last year, POSCO Group held regular executive reshuffles to a minimum level due to the ongoing search for the next chairman. Thus, the appointment of presidents of major affiliates was postponed.
In the reshuffle, the position of the CEO of steelmaker POSCO, considered the group’s No. 2, was reportedly contested until the last minute. Kim Ji-yong, president of POSCO Holdings, whom incumbent Chairman Choi Jeong-woo promoted to the post in December, had been considered until the previous day, but it turned out that Lee Si-woo, head of POSCO’s production technology division, was chosen. Former POSCO Holdings President Jeon Joong-sun, who competed with Jang In-hwa for the chairman post, has been nominated for the key post of CEO of POSCO E&C (formerly POSCO E&C). POSCO Group’s incumbent executives and executive candidates also closely discussed the upcoming reshuffle when Jang’s predecessors Chung Joon-yang and Kwon Oh-joon took and left office.
The CEO of POSCO, the group’s core steel business, will be Lee Si-woo. As the leading steel expert in the group, he will shoulder the important responsibility of reviving the steel business and improving the performance in new areas such as carbon-neutral hydrogen reduction steel.
The CEO of POSCO International, the second-largest company in terms of sales among affiliated companies ($24.9 billion in 2023), made a stable choice, by promoting Lee Kye-in, formerly the head of the global business division at Daewoo International before the merger, to the president. At POSCO Holdings, the holding company, CSO Jeong Ki-seop was re-elected to the board of directors and will serve as CEO with Jang.
Yoo Byung-ok, Vice President of eco-friendly future materials at POSCO Holdings, will be promoted to the position of President of POSCO Future M, a new business of POSCO Group’s secondary battery materials affiliate. Yoo has also served as a non-executive director of POSCO Future M since 2022. Former POSCO Holdings President Jeon Joong-sun was appointed CEO of POSCO E&C, a construction affiliate. The former CEO Jeon who had mainly worked in the group’s control tower returned to management after stepping down as an advisor in March of last year.
“In this reshuffle, the company has prioritized stability and expertise to ensure that the new chairman can quickly gain momentum and expand new businesses in secondary batteries, despite the slump of the steel industry,” said a POSCO Group official.
