Jang In-hwa, POSCO Chairman: "No Growth Without Innovation... Objectively Assess Group Capabilities"

Former Group Executives Gather to Discuss Realization of New Management Vision

POSCO Group announced that it will hold the '2024 POSCO Forum,' where all executives of the group companies attend to discuss strategies for leaping into a top-tier innovative company, over two days starting from the 1st at the POSCO Global R&D Center in Songdo.

Now in its 6th year, this year's POSCO Forum theme is 'Overcoming Crisis and Innovation Toward the Future.' Around 100 participants, including Chairman Jang In-hwa, key group executives, and outside directors of major group companies, will gather to diagnose the rapidly changing geopolitical and industrial structural paradigm shifts, listen to external experts' views, and discuss overcoming the crises facing the group and realizing the new management vision of 'Materials Opening the Future, Innovation Toward Top-Tier Excellence.'

Jang In-hwa, Chairman of POSCO.

The POSCO Forum will be divided into three sessions over two days: ▲ Innovation Leading Crisis Breakthrough and the Future ▲ Breakthrough & Future ▲ Innovation of POSCO Corporate Culture. Each session will feature lectures by experts and discussions with attendees. Additionally, group employees can watch the sessions live online in real time.

The keynote speech will be delivered by Mark Leonard, co-founder and executive director of the European Council on Foreign Relations, under the theme 'The Future and Survival Strategies in the Geopolitical Era.' He will provide an objective analysis of the US-China hegemonic competition, the US presidential election, the Russia-Ukraine war, and Middle East conflicts, as well as forecast the impacts on the global economy and industry, discussing implications companies should consider.

In the business session for the steel sector, Yomifumi Uesaka, deputy editor of Nikkei Business, will present on the topic 'The Secret of the Revival of Japanese Companies and Implications for POSCO Seen Through NSC (Nippon Steel Corporation) Innovation.' He will analyze the process and success factors by which NSC, which had sustained large-scale deficits, regained competitiveness, and derive implications for POSCO together with panelists and attendees.

Regarding secondary battery materials, Kim Kwang-joo, CEO of SNE Research, will present 'Changes in the Secondary Battery Materials Industry Ecosystem and Strategies to Overcome the Chasm.' He will diagnose technological innovations in the Chinese battery industry and the current status of the Korean battery industry, discuss the patterns of the electric vehicle chasm, impacts and changes in the industrial ecosystem, and directions for material suppliers' responses.

In the corporate culture session, external stakeholders such as customers, suppliers, and local communities will present their expectations and suggestions for improvement regarding POSCO Group's future strategies and social roles. Additionally, group company employees will propose opinions and engage in discussions to realize the new management vision.

Chairman Jang emphasized, "We must always maintain a sense of crisis that the group could be shaken if we do not innovate, and establish strategies that balance crisis and opportunity to prepare for the future." He added, "Business innovation can increase the likelihood of success through reinterpretation and reconfiguration of existing business models, so we must objectively assess the group's capabilities and resources."

He also urged, "We must gain trust from internal and external stakeholders through careful consideration and communication, and form an open consensus among all members regarding innovation toward the future through sincere communication with employees."