"Flood Damage: Full-scale Recovery Support by Civil, Government, and Military at POSCO Pohang Steelworks"

Recovery Efforts for Pohangso Damage Starting from the 7th
Over 50 Public, Private, and Military Organizations Nationwide
Full Support from Clients and Partners

Firefighters supporting the recovery work at Pohang Steelworks are using a high-capacity water jet system to drain water from inside the factory. Photo by POSCO

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Dong-hoon] The public, private, and military sectors have joined forces to support the full-scale recovery of the POSCO Pohang Steelworks, which suffered flood damage due to Typhoon Hin Nam No.

According to POSCO on the 14th, the emergency recovery work that began urgently on the 7th of this month saw not only employees of the Pohang Steelworks but also those from the Gwangyang Steelworks, group companies, and partner firms rolling up their sleeves. Support continued from over 50 public, private, and military organizations nationwide, including Gyeongsangbuk-do Province, the Fire Agency, the Marine Corps, and client companies. Since the 12th, all blast furnaces at the Pohang Steelworks have resumed operation, allowing the production of semi-finished steel products to begin.

Choi Jeong-woo, Chairman of the POSCO Group, said, "On behalf of all POSCO Group employees, I extend my deepest gratitude to everyone who spared no effort in supporting us materially and spiritually during this unprecedented crisis at the Pohang Steelworks. Through the support and encouragement we have received, we once again feel the heavy responsibility our steelworks bear in the national economy, and we will repay this by restoring the steelworks to normal operations as soon as possible."

On the 9th, the Fire Agency deployed two large-capacity water cannon systems from the Ulsan Chemical Center to the Pohang Steelworks. These advanced systems, of which only two exist in Korea, can discharge up to 75,000 liters of water per minute and played a significant role in accelerating drainage operations in the steelworks' major flooded areas.

Since the 8th, the Gyeongsangbuk-do Fire Headquarters and Pohang Southern Fire Station under the Fire Agency have deployed not only firefighting personnel but also 41 fire trucks and 224 fire pumps. They oversaw the entire drainage operation, efficiently allocating equipment and firefighters, and managed daily progress including overnight work.

The Marine Corps supported the site in various ways, providing fire pumps, water pumps, and sewage collection vehicles on the 9th, and washing employees' work clothes on the 11th. Earlier, on the 6th when flooding began at the steelworks, they attracted attention by deploying armored vehicles to assist entry into the steelworks.

Client companies also provided generous support. The three major shipbuilders?Hyundai Heavy Industries, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, and Samsung Heavy Industries?who are the largest customers of POSCO's thick plate products, contributed fire pumps, high-pressure washers, and generators to aid the emergency recovery work.

SK Group’s social contribution network, 'Happy Alliance,' provided support by operating food trucks for three days, and the National Disaster Relief Association supported the washing of employees' work clothes through laundry relief vehicles.

Hyundai Steel’s Dangjin Steelworks urgently dispatched five torpedo cars to Pohang. A torpedo car is a vehicle carrying a container for molten steel. Hyundai Steel’s torpedo cars successfully transported molten steel in place of the Pohang Steelworks’ torpedo cars, which were unusable due to flooding, demonstrating the steel industry's solidarity in this crisis.

Hyundai Heavy Industries, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, and Samsung Heavy Industries, our clients, also extended a helping hand by providing fire pumps and generators. Employees are preparing to urgently deploy the fire pumps supplied by Hyundai Heavy Industries at the 3rd Heavy Plate Plant. Photo by POSCO

Strong support forces also rushed from Gwangyang City to the Pohang Steelworks. About 20 partner companies of the Gwangyang Steelworks dispatched approximately 370 skilled personnel to assist with various repair tasks. 'Gwangyang Enterprises,' a partner company of the Gwangyang Steelworks, immediately supported the recovery work by providing vacuum cleaning vehicles and water spraying vehicles, and on the 10th, they prepared and provided rice cakes for the hardworking employees on site.

Lee Cheol-woo, Governor of Gyeongsangbuk-do, visited the Pohang Steelworks recovery site again on the 9th for inspection and received a request from POSCO for additional recovery equipment support. Governor Lee immediately instructed relevant agencies on site to provide prompt assistance.

In addition, the Ministry of National Defense, Pohang City, Yeongdeok County, Uiseong County, Korea Expressway Corporation, Steel Management Corporation, Pohang Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Gwangyang Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Army’s 50th Division, and LS Industrial Systems also sent various equipment, supplies, and food and beverages to support the safe and swift recovery of the Pohang Steelworks.

Lee Young-pal, Head of the Gyeongbuk Fire Headquarters who led the recovery operations, said, "Seeing the Pohang Steelworks’ night view, which used to shine brilliantly, go dark broke my heart as if my own heart was collapsing. I gave my best support with the thought that if the Pohang Steelworks is hit, both the local and national economies would collapse together."

Park Hong-chul, Center Chief of the Ulsan 119 Chemical Rescue Center at the Central 119 Rescue Headquarters, who also participated in the recovery work, said, "Although the schedule was extremely exhausting, the team devoted themselves with a sense of mission to protect the nation's key industries. We will continue to support until we can see the full lights of the Pohang Steelworks again beyond the Hyeongsan River."

POSCO plans to continue 24-hour recovery operations to fully restore production in response to the active support and encouragement. Above all, they will thoroughly adhere to prescribed procedures to ensure safety management, and from the 14th, they will reopen the steelworks’ cafeteria, which had been closed due to flood damage, providing full meals instead of boxed lunches to recovery personnel.

The rolling area of the Pohang Steelworks, which suffered the greatest damage due to the flooding of the Naengcheon stream, has been about 90% drained, and some factories have resumed electricity supply. POSCO plans to estimate the damage scale and establish a rolling line operation plan once drainage and underground facility inspections are completed.