Passed at Previous Shareholders' Meeting, Welcomed by All Walks of Life
"Must Become a Model Case for Regional Balanced Development," a Unified Voice!
Pohang City announced that it warmly welcomes the agenda of relocating the headquarters of POSCO Holdings to Pohang, which had stirred the region for over a year, finally passing at the POSCO Holdings shareholders' meeting on the 17th after much difficulty.
Mayor Lee Kang-deok, along with various sectors of the Pohang community and 500,000 citizens, collectively expressed their welcome to the news that the agenda to relocate the POSCO Holdings headquarters to Pohang passed the shareholders' meeting, confirming the move to Pohang.
Previously, POSCO Group, which had experienced severe conflicts with the local community over the location of the headquarters, signed an agreement with Pohang City on February 25 last year regarding the relocation of the headquarters to Pohang. They formed a win-win cooperation task force and held several meetings to implement specific agreed matters, but contrary to expectations, negotiations stalled.
To make matters worse, in September last year, Typhoon Hinnamnor caused massive flooding damage to both Pohang City and POSCO, temporarily halting negotiations. However, thanks to the continued efforts of Pohang City and POSCO, the relocation of the POSCO Holdings headquarters to Pohang was finally confirmed.
The reason why Pohang citizens strongly requested the relocation of the POSCO Holdings headquarters to Pohang, starting with a citywide solidarity signature campaign, is closely linked to the important national task of overcoming the increasingly serious issues of 'capital concentration in the metropolitan area and the risk of regional extinction.'
The current risk of regional extinction is indeed severe. Last year, South Korea recorded a total fertility rate of 0.78, the lowest ever, ranking last among OECD countries. Due to low birth rates and concentration in the metropolitan area, as of March 2022, 113 out of 228 cities, counties, and districts nationwide?about half (49.6%)?were classified as at risk of regional extinction.
Pohang City, which led South Korea's industrialization through the steel industry for the past half-century, is no exception. The population of Pohang, once 530,000, fell below 500,000 last year.
In this situation, many citizens hope that POSCO Group will continue to make efforts to implement the final agreement, including the actual relocation of the headquarters and the establishment of the main campus of the Future Technology Research Institute. They also expect POSCO to take the lead in revitalizing the local economy through active investment in future new industries such as the designation of a specialized secondary battery complex, the establishment of a research-oriented medical school, and the creation of an eco-friendly hydrogen energy industrial city.
On February 25th last year, Pohang City reached a sudden agreement with POSCO to establish the headquarters of the holding company and the main office of the Future Technology Research Institute in Pohang.
Mayor Lee Kang-deok said, “Now facing the critical crisis of regional extinction, balanced regional development cannot be achieved by the government alone,” adding, “Companies must actively create jobs, revive the local economy, communicate with local residents, and fulfill their social responsibilities to contribute to the development of the local community.”
He continued, “The passing of this shareholders' meeting marks a significant milestone as it opens the first chapter for the nation, region, and companies to grow together.”
“To enable companies to secure excellent talent needed in the regions, companies should actively participate in nurturing local talent through support for local education and research, striving to build a sustainable industry-academia-research cooperation ecosystem,” he said, adding, “I hope the relocation of the POSCO Holdings headquarters to Pohang becomes a true model case for balanced regional development.”
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