Determination to Confront Legitimacy Issues Head-On
Park Hee-jae, chairman of the POSCO Holdings CEO Candidate Recommendation Committee, said on the 17th, "The selection of the next group chairman is the most important mission of the candidate recommendation committee." He expressed a determination to confront head-on the legitimacy issues that arose following the committee's decision to finalize a 'longlist' of 18 candidates for the next chairman.
Chairman Park said in a phone interview with Asia Economy on the same day, "We hold meetings frequently on weekends and late nights during weekdays. We will work harder without wavering," emphasizing his commitment.
Outside directors of POSCO included in the candidate recommendation committee are currently embroiled in controversy over 'luxurious overseas business trips.' They have been booked by the police on charges including breach of duty. This has led to questions about whether they are qualified to recommend chairman candidates.
Chairman Park also began to refute recent media reports related to the overseas board meeting controversy. He said, "When directors go on overseas trips, more than 30 personnel from operational and support departments accompany them," adding, "The media reports mention only a few people, so the costs appear larger."
He continued, "Among the accompanying personnel are employees from subsidiaries such as POSCO and POSCO-Canada, who were mentioned in the articles as sharing the costs," and "Since the directors go, it is natural that subsidiary employees at headquarters or locally also join." This means that the expenses of the employees accompanying the overseas trips were handled by their respective companies. The police are questioning the fact that the 680 million KRW cost of POSCO Holdings' Canadian board meeting was not borne solely by POSCO Holdings but was split and executed by subsidiaries POSCO and POSCO-Canada.
He said, "For a global company like POSCO, overseas board meetings are absolutely necessary," and "POSCO is fundamentally different from domestic companies like KT or KT&G, which are related to permits and licenses." He added, "Two-thirds of POSCO's sales come from overseas, and only one-third from domestic markets," and "About 50% of shareholders are foreign investors."
Chairman Park stated, "The issue is so complex, but discussions continue without looking at the detailed specifics one by one." However, he said, "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."
Regarding the police investigation, Chairman Park said, "We have not yet been contacted by the police, but if we are to be investigated, all committee members will sincerely cooperate," while adding, "Regardless of the police investigation, the candidate recommendation committee will continue to do its best in the chairman selection process."
The CEO candidate recommendation committee will reflect the advisory group's evaluation results and decide on a 'shortlist' of about 10 candidates at the 7th meeting on the 24th. By the end of this month, they plan to finalize a 'final list' of about five candidates for in-depth interviews and publicly announce the candidate list.
POSCO chairman candidates include internal figures such as Kim Hak-dong, POSCO Vice Chairman; Jung Tak, POSCO International Vice Chairman; Jung Ki-seop, President; Han Sung-hee, CEO of POSCO E&C; and Kim Jun-hyung, CEO of POSCO Future M. External candidates mentioned include Hwang Eun-yeon, former head of POSCO Human Resources Development Institute; Lee Young-hoon, former president of POSCO Construction; Cho Cheong-myung, former president of POSCO Plantec; Jeon Jung-sun, former president of POSCO Holdings; Kwon Young-soo, former vice chairman of LG Energy Solution; and former lawmaker Yoon Sang-jik, who served as Minister of Knowledge Economy (now Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy).
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