Dignitaries pose at an event to celebrate the 15th anniversary of Iron Day at POSCO Center in southeastern Seoul. They include Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Yoon Sang-jick; KOSA Chairman Kwon Oh-joon; Hyundai Steel Vice Chairman Park Seung-ha; Dongkuk Steel Chairman Jang Se-joo; Dongbu Steel Vice Chairman Lee Jong-keun; SeAh Steel Chairman Lee Soon-hyung; and TCC Steel Corp. Chairman Sohn Bong-rok. (Photo:KOSA)

The Korea Iron & Steel Association (KOSA) decided to devote itself to helping steelmakers focus on safety management in celebration of the 15th anniversary of Iron Day on June 9 in accordance with the mounting requirement for ensuring industrial safety on a voluntary basis in the wake of the ferry Sewol disaster.

KOSA plans to inaugurate a member company executives’ consultative meeting designed to share excellent safety practices and spread awareness toward industrial safety in connection with Steel Safety Day, launched by the World Steel Association on April 28. While adopting a written pledge to ensure safety management, steelmakers strive to ramp up their surveillance over continued safety practices. 

The association plans to reinforce member steelmaker’ prevention of industrial accidents and their awareness toward industrial safety by inaugurating an educational course on safety for officials of steelmakers, including a mandatory safety on-the-job training. 

Some 300 people were present at an even to celebrate the 15th anniversary of Iron Day at POSCO Center in southeastern Seoul. Among the participants were Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Yoon Sang-jick; KOSA Chairman Kwon Oh-joon; Hyundai Steel Vice Chairman Park Seung-ha; Dongkuk Steel Chairman Jang Se-joo; Dongbu Steel Vice Chairman Lee Jong-keun; SeAh Steel Chairman Lee Soon-hyung; and TCC Steel Corp. Chairman Sohn Bong-rok.

KOSA Chairman Kwon said in his commemorative speech, “Those in the steel industry have to volunteer and spearhead the resurgence of the industry, and to this end, technological competitiveness and strong partnerships with steel-consuming industries should be reinforced on the basis of safety.” 

“Safety is the foremost value that cannot be exchanged with anything else, so the steel industry will have to make safety its foremost management tenet and expand safety-related investments so that precious lives are no longer sacrificed and it must look into whether safety management systems at business sites actually function.” 

Chairman Kwon said he extended his whole-hearted thanks to the elders’ sweat and pain to develop the Republic of Korea, a wasteland of the steel industry, into a global top six steel powerhouse.

He also expressed worry that the steel industry is struggling under severe hardships, caused by structural oversupply, of which 60 percent comes from Northeast Asia, and dramatic steps should be taken at this juncture. 

Minister Yoon said in his speech that new demand should be developed for the survival of the steel industry, and the government will do its utmost to support the private sector’s R&D activities to develop valued added products. 

He went on to say that all people should join forces to overcome the current difficulties the Korean steel industry is experiencing by looking back at its marvelous history. 

Twenty-six people were honored with a variety of government prizes in recognition of their contribution to the development of the Korean steel industry. The Order of Industrial Merit, Silver Tower, went to KISWire Co. Senior Executive Vice President Lee Tae-joon, while POSCO Executive Vice President Oh In-hwan was presented with the Order of Industrial Merit, Bronze Tower.