Steel Giant POSCO Names New Chairman-CEO

POSCO yesterday said Chung Joon-yang, president of Posco Engineering and Construction, is the sole candidate for the steel giant’s chairman and CEO posts.

Chung in a news conference expressed his willingness to participate the government’s job sharing drive, saying, “We plan to recruit 1,000 to 2,000 new employees and hire an additional 1,600 interns using the financial resources collected from wage cuts by our staff and affiliate workers.”

The steelmaker last year hired 2,000 new employees but no interns.

“It is crucial to secure talent when the economic outlook is deemed grim. We will try our best to maintain our competitive edge by securing and nurturing talent,” he said.

Earning an engineering education degree from Seoul National University, Chung worked as an engineer for more than 20 years over his 35 years with the steelmaker. He has also served as head of POSCO Gwangyang Steel Works, Posco Engineering and Construction and Posco Engineering.

Chung was appointed chairman by the POSCO CEO Recommendation Committee last month.

The company also underwent a reshuffle in which its new departments for developing future growth strategies and green growth policies were organized as umbrella groups under direct control of the CEO.

swon@donga.com