Dongkuk Steel Chairman Jang Sae-joo speaks over his winning of an order from the Jose Ermirio de Moraes award at the Brazilian Senate in Brasilia. (Photo: Dongku Steel)

Dongkuk Steel Chairman Jang Sae-joo has received an order from the Brazilian parliament in recognition of his contribution to the development of the Brazilian industry by constructing CSP Steelworks in the country.

Chairman Jang made a public appearance for the first time in four years, which may be construed as a signal that his comeback to management is imminent.

Chairman Jang was decorated with the Jose Ermirio de Moraes award at the Brazilian Senate in Brasilia in July. The order is given to those who have contributed to the development of the Brazilian industry.

As for the reason of the award, the Brazilian Senate said, “Chairman Jang of Dongkuk Steel, a shareholder of CSP Steelworks in northeastern Brazil, invested $5.4 billion (roughly 6.3 trillion won) to produce 3 million tons of slaves and greatly contributed to the development of the regional economy and society.” Jang said that he will devote himself to promoting innovation of CSP Steelworks and mutual exchanges of Korea and Brazil.

At a ceremony, Chairman Jang said, “The honor of this moment would not be possible were it not for the Brazilian government’s institutional support and shareholders’ resources development capabilities and technology support.”

CSP Steelworks in Brazil is Dongkuk Steel’s joint venture that went on stream in 2016. Dongkuk Steel and POSCO have a 30 percent and a 20 percent stake, respectively, in the joint venture, while the remaining 50 percent stake is owned by Vale. Dongkuk Steel is charged with the operation of the steelworks and marketing.

Valle is responsible for supplying iron ore, while POSCO is providing the technology support that is essential for the operation of the steelworks. The construction and operation of the steelworks had direct and indirect effects of hiring 37,000 people.
Dongkuk Steel failed in repeated attempts to set up a blast furnace the steelmaker had dreamed of since 1962. In 2001, Chairman Jang turned his eyes to Brazil.

He himself was in charge of implementing a project to establish a blast furnace steel mill in Brazil. After persuading the Brazilian government and other companies, Dongkuk Steel began to make investments in Ceara, a northeastern state of Brazil in 2005. Dongkuk Steel launched the CSP Steelworks project in 2012 and the commercial operation of the steel mill with a ceremony to ignite a blast furnace in June 2016.
Dongkuk Steel, established in 1954, became the third Korean steelmaker to have a blast furnace following POSCO and Hyundai Steel, realizing its dream after 62 years. CSP Steelworks in Brazil is the second steel mill established by a Korean steelmaker abroad.

“The dream has come true over three generations – starting with founder Jang Kyung-ho and stretching to third generation Chairman Jang Sae-joo via the second-generation chairman Jang Sang-tae,” a Dongkuk Steel official said.

CSP Steels produced 2.93 million tons of slabs last year and logged $164 million in operating profit – its first in two and half years since its operation. It is significant for CSP Steel to play a bridge connecting economic cooperation between Korea and Brazil, the official said.

Dongkuk Steel Leads Industry with Proprietary Technologies

With the successful operation of CSP Steelworks in Brazil, a joint venture among Dongkuk Steel, POSCO and Vale, Dongkuk Steel is preparing for the future with continued development of new technologies and the simultaneous introduction of new engineering methods.
In Korea, Dongkuk Steel is getting ahead of its rivals with its own proprietary power and innovative engineering technology.

A digital inkjet print technology, developed after three years of research, is a technology designed to print photos on the surface of steel sheets as if you would develop a film.

Dongkuk Steel has been credited with opening a new era of the color steel sheet market by producing value-added exterior steel sheets with high-definition and diverse colors suiting customers’ needs by overcoming the conventional limitations, caused by discoloration and corrosions.

Coating for construction materials are color steel sheets used general in exterior and interior construction materials, and are produced by spraying primer to enhance properties such as corrosion resistance and processability and then finished by painting the surface with colors to suit the demand and needs of customers.