POSCO Group Hosts '2024 Global Volunteer Week'

Special Volunteer Week at Group Level
20,000 Domestic and Overseas Employees to Participate for 9 Days Starting from the 23rd

With Posco sculpture at Posco building, Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul. Photo by Younghan Heo younghan@

POSCO Group has designated the period from the 23rd to the 31st of this month as the '2024 Global Volunteer Week' and is conducting large-scale volunteer activities around the world where its business sites are located.

Global Volunteer Week is a special volunteer week where POSCO Group employees at home and abroad unite to practice sharing. POSCO Group started Global Volunteer Week in 2010 and has continued a beautiful partnership with local communities through volunteer work for 15 years.

This year, a total of about 20,000 POSCO Group employees are participating in Global Volunteer Week, carrying out approximately 800 volunteer activities worldwide.

On the 28th, POSCO Group Chairman Jang In-hwa visited Jenae-ri, Daesong-myeon, Nam-gu, Pohang City, and participated in housing environment improvement and elderly care activities such as woodworking, painting, and electrical repairs together with POSCO President Lee Si-woo, Pohang Steelworks Director Cheon Si-yeol, and POSCO Talent Volunteer Group members. On this day, Baek In-gyu, Chairman of the Pohang City Council, and Jang Sang-gil, Vice Mayor of Pohang City, also joined the volunteer activities.

Jenae-ri, Daesong-myeon, is a village where local residents who lived in the steelworks site (Gwaedong-dong) during the construction of Pohang Steelworks relocated and settled. It is currently the living place for about 300 relocated elderly residents.

Chairman Jang shook hands and exchanged greetings with the villagers, saying, "Thanks to the local residents who have been a reliable partner since the early days of our founding, POSCO, the world's best steel company, was able to be born," and added, "We will work even harder to grow and develop together with the local community."

Seong Pil-im, a resident of Jenae-ri, said, "Although it has already been 55 years since we relocated here from Gwaedong-dong, I am grateful to the POSCO employees who have not forgotten us and have greatly helped the village through sincere volunteer activities," adding, "They meticulously repaired every corner of the house as if it were their own and painted every alley, brightening the entire village area."

Choi Jae-ho, Manager of Pohang Steelworks and leader of the mural volunteer group who participated in the volunteer activities that day, said, "Jenae-ri was a region severely damaged by Typhoon Hinnamnor in 2022, but I am glad to see the village regain vitality and the residents smile brightly again," and added, "We plan to continue volunteer activities steadily in the future."

During Global Volunteer Week, employees of Pohang and Gwangyang Steelworks participate in various volunteer activities with neighbors, including ▲ caring for local children and the elderly ▲ blood donation ▲ helping with farm work ▲ environmental cleanup.

POSCO Holdings is conducting invasive plant removal activities to preserve biodiversity in the Han River, POSCO International is volunteering to record fairy tales for children from multicultural families, POSCO E&C is collaborating with 12 local fire stations where its business sites are located to improve the housing environment of fire-vulnerable households, and POSCO Future M is engaging in beach environmental cleanup, delivering bread to marginalized groups, and volunteering in welfare facility meal services at each business site.

In addition, business companies are pooling their capabilities to jointly solve social problems through the 'SEPOSI (Synergy Contribution Activities Changing the World by POSCO Group)' linked volunteer activities. On the 24th, POSCO DX collected underwater waste and harmful organisms using AI technology together with the POSCO Clean Ocean Volunteer Group in Namhae-gun, Gyeongnam, and on the 23rd, POSCO Wide delivered reusable furniture and custom-made furniture directly produced with POSCO PH Solution and POSCO PS Tech to local welfare facilities.

In countries where POSCO Group has entered, various volunteer activities such as charity bazaars and donations for marginalized groups are being carried out. In particular, in Thailand, artificial coral is being installed to protect the marine ecosystem, and in T?rkiye, playgrounds are being created using construction materials, promoting activities needed by local communities.

Meanwhile, the POSCO Volunteer Group, founded in 2003, currently has about 500 volunteer groups including 113 talent volunteer groups, playing a significant role in establishing a culture of sharing within POSCO Group. Also, the POSCO 1% Sharing Foundation, operated with 1% of employees' salaries and company matching grants, is creating a corporate culture of coexistence and trust with local communities by promoting various projects supporting the self-reliance of vulnerable groups and nurturing future generations.