POSCO Chairman-desigante Kwon Oh-joon

POSCO President and CTO Kwon Oh-joon has been nominated as the next chairman of POSCO, succeeding retiring Chairman Chung Joon-yang.

In a meeting on Jan. 16, POSCO’s board unanimously approved Kwon, 63, who was recommended by the CEO Succession Council and he will be officially inaugurated on March 15 following shareholders’ approval, the steelmaker said in a statement. During his tenure as CEO ending in February 2017, the new chairman will have the daunting task of executing some 83 trillion won in new investments.

It will be the first time a technology man will take over the top management of the fifth largest steelmaker in the world as chairman and CEO.

“The entire steel industry around the world is faced with slowing profits due to a glut of steel products and overblown raw materials prices,” said Lee Young-sun, the chairman of the board, in the statement.

“The new leader for the steelmaker should know how to overcome the tough times by pursuing the reform of the business portfolio, among other things, in order to make the steel maker financially healthier and boost its value” Lee said.

Kwon’s steelmaking technological know-how should enhance the Pohang steelmaker’s competitive power since he can combine technologies and marketing as the top manager of the steel company, the board said in its statement.

President Kwon said he is ready to dedicate himself to boosting POSCO’s competitive edge in the global steel industry by reforming the POSCO business portfolio and strengthening its financial soundness with the “POSCO the Great” strategy based on creative and harmonious management in order to be a top-class global steelmaker if shareholders approve his nomination. 

He was one of the final five candidates to replace outgoing POSCO Chairman Chung as of Jan. 15.

The others were POSCO Chemtech President Kim Jin-il; Oh Young-ho, president of the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA); Chung Dong-hwa, vice chairman and CEO of POSCO Engineering & Construction; and Park Han-yong, chairman of the POSCO Educational Foundation.

The board held interviews with all the candidates on Jan. 15 and 16 to analyze them in eight categories including leadership, vision, professionalism, and understanding of the steel industry. And they agreed Kwon was the right person to lead POSCO.

Chung offered to resign in November 2013 with one-and-a-half years left in his three-year term as the CEO. He became chairman of POSCO in February 2009 and was reelected in March 2012.

POSCO set up a “CEO Succession Council” late last year to select a number of candidates. The four-member council conducted a thorough and transparent review of the five candidates for the top position including interviews with the candidates.

Steel companies have suffered reduced profits or losses due to oversupply and reductions in prices in the past several years due mostly to sagging demand.

Kwon, a 30-year veteran at POSCO, is considered a top steel production technology man, working in the production technology sector since joining the steel maker in 1986. He was the director of the POSCO Technology Research Institute before being named president in charge of the technology sector.

The chairman-designate has been widely known for his hard work and quiet nature, sometimes spending many nights at work in a display of sincerity. Kwon is also known for his humbleness throughout the company. An employee who worked close to him said the chairman-designate has always been courteous to the new young employees, winning respect from them for his modesty. He calls any new employee Mister, Miss, or Mrs. When speaking to them.

Born in Youngju, North Gyeongsang Province, in 1950, he attended a high school in Seoul and went on to Seoul National University majoring in metal chemistry, followed by an M.A. at Windsor University in Canada and a doctorate in metallurgy from the University of Pittsburgh in the United States.