[Exclusive] POSCO Pepper Committee Chair: "Only 30 Accompanying Personnel Including Local Staff... Details Unknown, Speculation Arises"

"Global Company with About 60% of Sales from Overseas... Different from KT and KT&G"
Shortlist of Around 10 to Be Finalized Next Week... Finalist List to Be Announced at the End of This Month

Park Hee-jae, chairman of the POSCO Holdings CEO Candidate Recommendation Committee, has for the first time stated that the controversy over overseas board meetings is not an accurate claim.

On the 17th, Park said in a phone interview with Asia Economy, "First of all, the reported content and data are not accurate."

He explained, "When directors go on overseas business trips, the number of accompanying personnel from operational and support departments exceeds 30," adding, "The media reports mention only a few people, so the amount appears large."

Park also said, "The accompanying personnel include employees from subsidiaries such as POSCO and POSCAN (POSCO-Canada), who were mentioned in the article as sharing the costs," and "Since the directors go, it is natural that employees from the headquarters or local subsidiaries also accompany them."

This can be interpreted to mean that the costs of employees accompanying overseas business trips were handled by their respective companies and are not illegal. The police are raising issues with POSCO Holdings' board meeting expenses in Canada amounting to 680 million KRW, pointing out that POSCO Holdings did not bear the entire cost alone but shared it with subsidiaries POSCO and POSCAN.

He stated, "Overseas board meetings are essential for a global company like POSCO," and "POSCO is fundamentally different from domestic companies related to permits and licenses, such as KT or KT&G." He added, "Two-thirds of POSCO's sales come from overseas, and only one-third from the domestic market," and "About 50% of shareholders are foreign investors."

Park said, "The issue is so complex, but discussions continue without looking at the details one by one."

However, he acknowledged, "We are well aware of the public's concerns and humbly accept the points raised by the media," and "We will be careful and prudent in the future to prevent such controversies from arising."

Founder Park Tae-joon statue in the lobby of POSCO headquarters, Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul. Photo by Younghan Heo younghan@

Regarding the police investigation, Park said, "There has been no contact from the police yet, but if we are to be investigated, all committee members will sincerely cooperate," adding, "Regardless of the police investigation, the recommendation committee will continue to do its best in the chairman selection process."

On the same day, the CEO Candidate Recommendation Committee finalized a 'long list' of 18 internal and external candidates for the next chairman and requested advice from a CEO candidate advisory panel composed of five external members. Reflecting the advisory panel's evaluation results, the committee will decide on a 'short list' of about 10 candidates at the 7th meeting on the 24th. The CEO Candidate Recommendation Committee plans to finalize a 'finalist' list of about five candidates for in-depth interviews by the end of this month and publicly announce the candidate list.

Park said, "We hold meetings frequently on weekends and late nights on weekdays," and "Since selecting the next chairman of the POSCO Group is the committee's most important mission, we will work even harder without wavering."