POSCO Group Supports SMEs in Implementing 'Fair Trade Compliance Program,' Achieving Results

Four Partner SMEs Achieve AA Rating
First Case of Large-Small CP Collaboration

Four small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) supported by POSCO Group in implementing the Compliance Program (CP) for fair trade received excellent grades in the CP rating evaluation conducted by the Korea Fair Trade Commission. This is the first case where a large corporation supported SMEs in adopting CP and achieved excellent grades. Additionally, nine POSCO Group companies participated in the CP rating evaluation, all receiving high grades.

The four POSCO partner SMEs?Samwoo Eco, Shinil Intech, Airix, and Joongang EMC?participated in the Korea Fair Trade Commission’s CP rating evaluation for the first time this year and earned an AA (Excellent) grade. This result is due to POSCO’s active support for CP adoption and activation since 2021 through its own fair trade CP certification system for partner companies. It represents a pioneering example of spreading a culture of fair trade through CP collaboration activities between a large corporation and partner SMEs in Korea.

In addition, nine POSCO Group companies participated in this year’s Korea Fair Trade Commission CP rating evaluation. POSCO E&C received an AAA (Highest Excellence) grade, while five companies?POSCO Holdings, POSCO, POSCO Future M, POSCO Flow, and POSCO A&C?received AA (Excellent) grades. Furthermore, three companies?POSCO DX, POSCO Mobility Solutions, and POSCO MC Materials?earned an A (Relatively Excellent) grade.

POSCO E&C became the first company in the domestic construction industry to receive the AAA (Highest Excellence) grade for two consecutive years. POSCO E&C was recognized for its efforts to establish a practical culture of fair trade, such as mandating the issuance of all documents stipulated by the Subcontracting Act online to prevent disputes in advance and expanding compliance coaching tailored to the characteristics of each construction site.

This achievement by POSCO Group reflects the group’s management philosophy of building a trusted ESG management system by spreading a culture of compliance and practicing mutual growth based on trust with business partners, including partner companies.

Since POSCO introduced the fair trade CP in 2002, the group has strengthened its foundation for establishing a fair trade culture by implementing CP in 37 group companies to date. Through the ‘Group CP Activation Support TF,’ composed of CP experts from 10 group companies including POSCO Holdings, the group is making efforts to spread a culture of fair trade in the industry by providing customized compliance support activities such as CP education and coaching not only to group companies but also to partner companies and mid-sized enterprises.