From Steel to Batteries: Major Industrial Transformation Recognized in Premium Secondary Battery City Management
Focusing on the Secondary Battery Industry as a Key Regional Sector... Building a Foundation for New Growth Engines
Lee Gangdeok, mayor of Pohang, who leads South Korea's representative industrial city, has been selected as one of the '2025 Korea's Influential CEOs'.
At the '2025 Korea's Influential CEO' awards ceremony held on the 4th at The Plaza Hotel in Seoul, Lee Gangdeok, mayor of Pohang, received the grand prize in the secondary battery premium city management category. Provided by Pohang City
On July 4, Pohang City announced that Mayor Lee received the grand prize in the secondary battery premium city management category at the '2025 Korea's Influential CEO' awards ceremony held at The Plaza Hotel in Seoul.
The '2025 Korea's Influential CEO' is an awards ceremony hosted by TV Chosun, which annually selects top executives who have continuously challenged new possibilities and achieved outstanding success in various fields across South Korea.
In line with the global paradigm shift toward carbon neutrality, the city has focused on fostering new growth industries such as secondary batteries, bio, and hydrogen, leveraging its excellent infrastructure including industrial complexes and R&D capabilities.
Since Ecopro's investment in 2017, more than 30 companies, including leading firms such as POSCO Future M and Energy Materials, have clustered in Pohang, establishing a secondary battery materials value chain and creating an ecosystem for win-win cooperation among large, medium, and small enterprises.
In particular, Pohang is the only city in South Korea that produces both cathode and anode materials. With an annual cathode production capacity of 210,000 tons, it has emerged as a global hub for cathode production. Additionally, with large-scale investments totaling 14 trillion won, the secondary battery industry has become a key regional industry alongside steel.
Furthermore, Pohang has laid the foundation for sustainable development by being designated as four major national strategic zones: the battery recycling regulatory free zone, which was the first in the country to be selected as an excellent zone for four consecutive years; the national advanced strategic industry specialized complex for cathode materials; the secondary battery opportunity development zone; and the secondary battery global innovation park.
Alongside these achievements, the city has continued to foster the industry through initiatives such as establishing a dedicated department, enacting ordinances related to secondary battery industry promotion, and hosting international battery conferences led by the local government. Pohang is also making efforts to enact the 'Special Act on Supporting the Secondary Battery Industry' to establish a national support system for the sector.
Pohang City is also striving to diversify its industrial structure.
In addition to secondary batteries, the city is building an innovative industrial ecosystem by attracting leading companies in the hydrogen and bio sectors.
Pohang is also gaining recognition as a marine tourism city by developing various marine tourism and leisure attractions such as Spacewalk and Yonghan Surfer Beach. The city is accelerating preparations to become a core hub of the MICE industry with the construction of the Pohang International Exhibition and Convention Center (POEX).
Moreover, by successfully hosting the World Green Growth Forum, Pohang has widely promoted its sustainable growth strategies and future vision based on green technology both domestically and internationally. Through the 'Greenway Project', the city has expanded green spaces such as urban forests and the Pohang Canal, earning recognition as a model case of a carbon-neutral city.
The city plans to realize its vision of becoming a global industrial city beyond South Korea, based on a sustainable future industrial foundation.
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