May 08, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] POSCO’s board of directors on July 27 approved a finance expert with a 35-year career at the steelmaker as its ninth chief executive officer.

Choi Jeong-woo began his career at POSCO in 1983 and has been involved in finance and business strategy matters in the world’s fifth-biggest steelmaker by output, the company said in a statement. 

He has led the restructuring programs for the Korean steelmaker since 2015 by selling non-core assets, integrating similar businesses and shutting down loss-making businesses, a company spokesman said.

The number of POSCO’s domestic affiliates fell to 38 from 71 and overseas branches to 124 from 181 under the self-help measures, the statement said.

Under the three-year restructuring efforts, POSCO shifted to a net profit of 1.048 trillion won (US$934 million) in 2016 from a net loss of 96.18 billion won a year earlier. Its net profit nearly tripled to 2.974 trillion won in 2017 compared to the previous year.

By Song Seung-hyun and newswires (ssh@heraldcorp.com)