Gyeongbuk Provincial Assembly Members from Pohang Region, "POSCO Holdings Must Be Established in Pohang for Balanced Development and the Spirit of the Times"

Letter Delivered to Temporary General Meeting with Over 200 Citizens, Expressing Affection and Regret

Yoon Seok-yeol, People Power Party Presidential Candidate, Also Opposes POSCO Holding Company’s Seoul Establishment

Members of the Gyeongbuk Provincial Assembly are protesting against the establishment of POSCO Holdings' headquarters in Seoul.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Gwiyeol] Eight members of the Gyeongbuk Provincial Council from the Pohang area, along with about 200 Pohang citizens, visited the POSCO Center in Seoul, where the POSCO extraordinary shareholders' meeting was held on the 28th, to protest against the establishment of the holding company in Seoul and delivered a letter.

They strongly demanded that POSCO Holdings, which will control the POSCO Group, be located in Pohang.

Previously, in December last year, the POSCO board of directors approved a plan to split the business divisions into 100% subsidiaries. They resolved to create a holding company named POSCO Holdings and to have POSCO as a subsidiary for the steel business, along with POSCO Engineering & Construction in the construction sector and POSCO Chemical in the secondary battery materials sector, with the final decision on the split to be made at the extraordinary shareholders' meeting on the 28th.

At the extraordinary shareholders' meeting held on the 28th, POSCO approved the agenda to transition to a holding company system. If POSCO transitions to a holding company, the former headquarters POSCO will be downgraded to a steel division subsidiary within POSCO Holdings.

Regarding the establishment of the parent company POSCO Holdings in Seoul instead of Pohang, where the current POSCO headquarters is located, residents of Pohang and southeastern Gyeongbuk, as well as local politicians, are strongly opposing it, and local public sentiment is boiling.

Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, also voiced a unified stance, saying, "The concentration of large corporations in the metropolitan area accelerates the extinction of local areas and can lead to a decline in national competitiveness," and "I clearly oppose the establishment of the POSCO holding company in Seoul."

Gyeongbuk Provincial Council members pointed out that "As stated in the letter Chairman Choi Jung-woo sent to shareholders, POSCO has its roots in Pohang yet has successfully expanded into future-oriented business areas," calling the establishment of POSCO Holdings in Seoul self-contradictory.

They also criticized, "POSCO has stated that the steel business will remain the group's core business in the future, so wouldn't it be more efficient for the headquarters to be located where the core business is?"

Some council members expressed regret, saying, "No matter what crisis comes, we must not neglect the workers and the region, the foundation of the company that will protect POSCO together," and "It is frustrating that POSCO does not recognize the pride and affection of Pohang citizens like this; I feel like shaving my head in protest."

One council member raised his voice, saying, "POSCO, a national company that led industrialization in the hungry 1960s and 70s and made South Korea an advanced country, should lead the current era's spirit of balanced regional development."

He added, "Since Pohang has many talented people including those from POSTECH, it is the optimal location for the Future Technology Research Institute, which formulates POSCO's core strategies and undertakes technology research and development," urging shareholders to make a wise choice.