[New Year's Address] POSCO Chairman Jang Inhwa: "Safety Is the Top Management Value... Strengthening Fundamental Competitiveness"

Jang Inhwa, Chairman of POSCO, emphasized safety and the fundamental competitiveness of business as the group’s top priorities in his New Year’s address for 2026.

Portrait photo of Jang Inhwa, Chairman of POSCO Group. POSCO

On January 2, at the sunrise kick-off ceremony held at Space Walk in Pohang, Chairman Jang stressed, "Safety at the work site must be valued above production, sales, construction period, delivery, and profit." He referenced the accidents that occurred at group business sites last year and expressed a strong commitment to achieving accident-free workplaces.

On this day, Chairman Jang called on POSCO employees to: ▲ spread K-Safety best practices at manufacturing and construction sites ▲ respond promptly to industrial paradigm shifts ▲ address the fragmentation of the global value chain and the transition to decarbonization ▲ stabilize the order base for the energy materials business ▲ and enhance profit-generation capabilities in the energy business.

Chairman Jang stated, "We must utilize the capabilities of the safety-specialized subsidiary established last year and innovate our safety management system to fundamentally prevent accidents. Furthermore, the know-how gained in this process should be disseminated to global business sites and the domestic industry, thereby fulfilling our social responsibility to establish K-Safety as a role model."

He added, "In manufacturing, we must expand Intelligent Factories to raise productivity per employee and apply unmanned technology using robots to high-risk manual tasks, thereby creating a safe and pleasant workplace based on technology. In office operations, we should respond swiftly to market changes using artificial intelligence (AI) and improve AI literacy."

Regarding the steel business, Chairman Jang said, "We must achieve structural cost innovation through 'Cost Innovation 2030 (CI2030)' based on technological strength and complete a product portfolio essential for future industries, including eight strategic products." He continued, "Based on the K-Steel Act passed at the end of last year, we must proceed without delay with the construction of the Pohang HyREX Demo Plant and the Gwangyang electric furnace to establish a foundation for timely response to the low-carbon steel market."

On the energy materials business, Chairman Jang stated, "Building on the de-China lithium supply chains established in Australia and Argentina last year, we must achieve research and development results that meet market needs, such as diversifying the cathode material product line, and expand the market base by strengthening marketing capabilities, including reinforcing dedicated organizations and personnel to respond to customers’ growth roadmaps." He further emphasized, "We should use the Alaska LNG project in the United States as an opportunity to expand Arctic gas assets, stabilize the Singapore trading subsidiary established last year at an early stage, and strengthen the profit structure through regional electricity business and overseas LNG power plant investments." He added, "In the long term, we must prepare to internalize capabilities by pursuing domestic offshore wind power, overseas solar power, and energy storage system (ESS) businesses, and by enhancing profit-generation capabilities across the value chain, the group must evolve its 'Next' core business connecting steel and energy materials."

Finally, Chairman Jang urged, "We must fully leverage the capabilities accumulated in the materials sector to discover new engines in new business domains that will lead future industries, and dedicate ourselves to building a resilient group business portfolio that remains unshaken even as uncertainty becomes a constant in the management environment."

Meanwhile, on this day, POSCO Group held kick-off ceremonies for each business unit, focusing on safety and on-site management. POSCO Holdings and POSCO held a sunrise kick-off ceremony at Space Walk, a Pohang landmark donated by POSCO, with Chairman Jang, representatives of Pohang-based business units, key executives, employees, partners, and labor-management representatives in attendance. They prayed for the group’s safety and pledged to achieve the year’s management goals and realize the group’s vision.

Afterward, Chairman Jang visited the No. 2 Plate Mill and No. 2 Steelmaking Plant at Pohang Steelworks, encouraging employees and starting the first official schedule of the new year with on-site management. POSCO International held a kick-off event pledging zero accidents at the Cheongna Incheon Power Plant, POSCO E&C held a New Year’s safety pledge event at the Incheon Third Link Bridge construction site, and POSCO Future M held an event at Pohang Sabang Memorial Park, each reaffirming their commitment to safety and accident prevention.