Q&A Session at the 59th Shareholders' Meeting
Seo Gang-hyun, CEO of Hyundai Steel, stated that the company is not currently considering a large-scale expansion into non-ferrous materials such as secondary battery materials.
On the 26th, during the Q&A session with shareholders at the 59th General Meeting of Shareholders held at Harbor Park Hotel in Jung-gu, Incheon, Seo said in response to a question about any strategies for future growth businesses, "We will establish and operate a strategy focused on strengthening the core competitiveness of steel," emphasizing this point.
Suh Kang-hyun, CEO of Hyundai Steel, is answering questions from shareholders at the 59th General Meeting of Shareholders held on the 26th at Harbor Park Hotel in Jung-gu, Incheon. (Provided by Hyundai Steel)
Seo added, "There are opinions that battery and secondary battery sectors are promising, but since they require massive investments, the risks are high," and continued, "We have about 9.7 trillion won in external borrowings, so making future investments that threaten our financial structure would be unreasonable."
However, he explained, "We will focus on developing high value-added steel materials and enhancing cost competitiveness," and added, "We will not be stingy with investments for the future."
He further emphasized, "We will concentrate our investment capabilities on where the steel industry is heading toward the carbon-neutral era," and said, "Our plan is to prioritize investments in the core steel business and carbon neutrality, and leading carbon neutrality through these efforts is the way to meet shareholders' expectations."
Seo elaborated, "We are currently establishing a ‘Electric Arc Furnace-Basic Oxygen Furnace (EAF-BOF) hybrid process’ production system, aiming to produce low-carbon automotive products step-by-step while maintaining the quality of BOF products."
Regarding Hyundai Steel's role and synergy effects within Hyundai Motor Group's future strategy, Seo introduced, "Hyundai Motor Group has formed and operates a Hydrogen Ecosystem General CFT, in which I, as CEO of Hyundai Steel, participate," and added, "Hyundai Steel is collaborating in the green steel sector by maximizing the group's business and technological capabilities, contributing to achieving the hydrogen ecosystem vision and realizing carbon neutrality in the supply chain of finished vehicles."
He also mentioned, "We are continuously pursuing strategic consultations with the group regarding future mobility materials such as UAM and robots," and added, "It is expected to take some time until commercialization, and accordingly, we will continuously strengthen collaboration in developing future mobility materials."
As a response strategy to the global steel industry's oversupply, Seo said, "We plan to respond to new demand increases by developing differentiated steel products in line with market changes," and explained, "We will continue developing high-strength lightweight automotive steel sheets to meet the growing demand for lightweight materials due to the acceleration of electric vehicle transition, and expand market share by developing steel for offshore wind power and eco-friendly energy transportation, as well as high-performance construction steel products such as seismic-resistant and fire-resistant steel."
Regarding recent safety accidents, he apologized, saying, "We apologize for causing concern to our shareholders," and stated, "We continuously invest over 200 billion won annually in safety, and this year, we will focus on reducing the three major types of serious accidents?falls, entrapments, and collisions?and preventing accidents such as fires and explosions."
At the general meeting, agenda items including approval of financial statements, appointment of outside directors and audit committee members, and approval of director remuneration limits were resolved. Kim Kwang-pyeong, Head of Finance Headquarters, and Lee Sung-soo, Head of Long Products Business Division, were newly appointed as inside directors, and Professor Cho Seung-ah of Seoul National University Business School was appointed as an outside director.
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