POSCO

History

1968–1971

In the 1960s, the South Korean government invested in constructing a steel plant for self-sufficiency. The Korean government created Pohang Iron and Steel Company, Ltd (POSCO) in 1968 and appointed as president of the mill a competent retired army general and friend of President Park Chung Hee, Park Tae-joon, a man with a track record of having turned around the government-owned Korea Tungsten Company. Construction of the Pohang plant began on April 1, 1970, and was dedicated on July 3, 1973, with an initial annual capacity of 1.03 million metric tons.

Construction of the initial plant was funded by Japan through the Third South Korea-Japan Ministerial Meeting in 1969. Financing included US$119 million in government grants and loans, US$54 million in credit from the Export-Import Bank of Japan, and technical assistance from corporations such as Nippon Steel. This cooperation followed the normalization of relations with Japan in 1965.

1972–1992

In 1972, POSCO began selling plate products. It focused on the domestic market, aiming to supply quality iron and steel to "related" domestic companies below export prices.

Beginning in 1973, South Korea's government used its National Investment Fund and the Korea Development Bank to invest large amounts of money into what Park Chung-hee's government viewed as the six strategic industries: steel, non-ferrous metals, shipbuilding, industrial machinery, electronics, and petrochemicals. This strategy helped develop companies POSCO and reduced input costs for production in downstream industries as well.

By the late 1980s, POSCO had grown into the "fifth biggest steel company in the noncommunist world," producing millions of tons worth trillions of won. In 1988, the second-phase mill was completed in Gwangyang. POSCO was rated the world's most productive steel manufacturer during that time.

POSCO CEO Park Tae-joon was quoted as saying, "You can import coal and machines, but you cannot import talent". Park realized the need for Korea to educate their youth in science and technology to ensure Korea's position in the high technology arena. Park founded the Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) in 1986 as Korea's first science and technology research-oriented university with the mission to educate young Koreans who can contribute to national prosperity through the advancement in science and technology. In 2012 and 2013, the Times Higher Education ranked POSTECH 1st in their "100 Under 50 Young Universities" rankings.

1992–1997

Changes in managerial systems and organizational structure accelerated in 1993 when POSCO's president and founder, Park Tae-Joon, who had wielded absolute managerial authority for more than 25 years, resigned.

With the change in leadership—from Park Tae-Joon to Ryu-Sang Bu, POSCO increased decentralization and diversification. POSCO's management emphasized greater flexibility, autonomy, and consensual decision-making processes. The chairman also moved to devolve more autonomy to the profit centers and changing from a strictly hierarchical organizational structure to one based on teams.

In July 1994, POSCO created two subsidiary companies, POSTEEL and POSTRADE. POSTEEL is the domestic sales and service arm of the company, while POSTRADE handles international trading of POSCO products. Both subsidiaries commenced full operation in September 1994, with all international POSCO affiliates transferred to POSTRADE by the end of that year. The landmark Posteel Tower on Tehran Street, in Seoul's Gangnam district (not to be confused with the POSCO Center, also on Tehran Street) was completed in 2003.

1997–2000

In 1997, Seoul announced that it was going to transform POSCO into a private company in line with the government's new policy of privatizing state-owned enterprises. The government planned to retain a majority share of the stock; initial reports in the South Korean press in 1998 indicated that the sale of public shares was going slower than anticipated. However, the administration led by Kim Young Sam changed the initial policy direction of privatization of POSCO and decided not to sell government-owned stock to keep it as a government investment enterprise.

But, the Kim Dae Jung administration following the Kim Young Sam administration listed privatization of public enterprise as a high priority policy in economic policy agenda to implement mainly because of outbreak of the economic crisis. The new administration decided to privatize POSCO and by 1998, the South Korean government had reduced its ownership of shares in POSCO to less than 20%, and more than 58% of the shares in POSCO were in the hands of foreign investors. In 2000, full privatization of POSCO was completed.

2001–present

As part of the privatization process, new Chairman Lee Ku-Taek began efforts to introduce a professional management and governance system of global standards for POSCO. Under the new governance system, management made accountability to shareholders a priority. POSCO also introduced a new performance-based evaluation and compensation system. Throughout most of its privatization drive, POSCO increased its revenue and business profit. Thanks to robust demand at home and in China, POSCO recorded the largest profits in the global steel industry in 2004. Net earnings from POSCO's array of steel products – used in everything from screws to skyscrapers – shot up 80% to $1.66 billion in 2004 from the previous year.

On June 30, 2006, POSCO completed the construction of its sixth continuous galvanizing line (CGL) at its Gwangyang mill in the South Jeolla Province. With this new addition, POSCO became the number 2 producer of sheet-steel just behind Arcelor.

With increasing global competition, POSCO looked to China and India for new opportunities. South Korean wages were too high to support a whole range of activities and POSCO looked elsewhere for new projects while keeping the areas where it has a comparative advantage in South Korea. By 2006, POSCO had 26 subsidiaries and invested over $2.4 billion in fresh investment on mainland China, especially in galvanized and stainless steel to supply global auto and appliance makers that have opened plants there. In 2006, POSCO started operating the Zhangjiagang Pohang Stainless Steel (ZPSS) steel mill capable of producing 600,000 tons of stainless steel and hot-rolled products annually in China's Jiangsu Province. As a result, POSCO became the first foreign firm operating an integrated stainless steel mill in China, handling the entire production process from smelting iron ore to finished products, including the cold rolled stainless plant it already operates.

In early 2007, Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway purchased a 4% stake in POSCO. Berkshire sold its share later in 2014.

In May 2012, Nippon Steel filed a lawsuit against POSCO, which was established in the 1960s with technical assistance from Nippon Steel, for illegally acquiring the technology for grain-oriented electrical steel sheets developed by Nippon Steel. It was alleged that POSCO hired ex-employees of Nippon Steel to obtain the technology. An ex-POSCO official stated that the company's Tokyo research centre was effectively an espionage base, whose primary purpose was to collect information about Japanese steel companies on orders from the Korean head office. The lawsuit was settled in 2015 through an agreement under which POSCO paid 30 billion yen to Nippon Steel.

Operations

Head Office

POSCO's Headquarters, along with the POSCO Center, form the 'brain' of the company, overseeing major tasks, such as the management, planning, and finances of the steelworks at Pohang and Gwangyang. The construction of POSCO headquarters at 1 Goedong-dong, Nam-gu, Pohang, was completed on April 1, 1987.

Pohang and Gwangyang Steelworks

Pohang - Constructed in four phases between April 1970 and February 1981 along Korea's southeast coast, the nation's first integrated steelworks has produced 230 million tons of pig iron through March 2004 - enough to build some 250 million compact cars. Crude Steel Production (2008) = 13.6 million tons.

Gwangyang - Constructed in four phases between September 1982 and October 1992 on Korea's southern coast, the nation's second integrated steelworks. Gwangyang focus on manufacturing automotive steel, high-strength structure steel, API line pipe steel, and other strategic product categories. Crude Steel Production (2008) = 17.4 million tons.