Lee Hee-geun, the newly appointed president of POSCO, expressed his ambition on the 3rd in his inaugural speech to leap forward as a world-class steel company based on POSCO's DNA of overcoming crises.
President Lee emphasized safety first. He stated, "Safety takes precedence over any other company value, and especially, serious accidents must never occur under any circumstances," adding, "From the planning stage of operations, we must pre-inspect risk factors and countermeasures, and through continuous checks and feedback, establish an autonomous safety management system."
He continued, "I firmly believe that no employees love the company and work with passion as much as POSCO employees do," and expressed his desire to "make POSCO the best company to work for in the world."
He also called for strengthening the core competitiveness of steel through manufacturing cost innovation based on equipment robustness and enhancement of technological capabilities. To achieve this, he emphasized the need to spread digital technology. President Lee said, "To improve the competitiveness of the Pohang Steelworks, we must accelerate technology development related to processes, products, and quality," adding, "We need to establish optimal use of low-cost raw materials and low-cost, high-efficiency process systems, and spread digital innovation technologies such as smart blast furnaces and one-touch tapping automation in converters to generate stable profits that are resilient to external environmental changes."
He further stated, "We will economically promote low-carbon technology development such as electric furnace high-grade steel manufacturing technology and hydrogen reduction steelmaking, while also securing a competitive edge by developing products and process technologies that can lead future markets."
President Lee also mentioned the importance of strengthening future readiness capabilities through creative strategy formulation and securing a sales base. He said, "We must predict risks, establish strategies that can create new business opportunities amid risks, and execute them quickly," adding, "When problems arise during execution, we will build a process that allows for bold and swift decision-making to exit."
Communication and trust were also highlighted as key factors by President Lee. He said, "We must become a company that communicates and grows together with labor, local communities, partners, suppliers, and customers," adding, "Labor and management must above all strive for mutual development based on trust and communication toward the shared goal of employee happiness and company growth. We will foster a culture of win-win cooperation by growing together with various business partners such as partners, suppliers, customers, and local communities with consideration and respect from the other party's perspective."
Additionally, President Lee called for building a robust organizational culture. He said, "We must innovate a work culture centered on essence, field, and execution, and above all, the leadership of position holders must be exemplary," adding, "Let us reflect on whether the work we are doing contributes to the development of the company and individuals, and whether we are creating unnecessary tasks and reports. We should boldly reduce work that does not help the company's competitiveness."
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