Chaired the year’s first Group management meeting on Jan. 29… presented “overwhelming execution” and “creating results” as the Group’s key management themes
Focus to deliver the steel “complete localization strategy” and tangible profits in secondary battery materials… positioning the energy business as the “Next Core”
Defined AI as a key driver that will shape the Group’s future… accelerating AX across all areas from manufacturing to office work
Chairman In-hwa Chang presented “overwhelming execution” and “creating results” as the Group’s key management themes for this year. It reflects his determination to deliver visible outcomes from future investments through bold structural transformation amid a complex crisis—and to prove those outcomes in “numbers.”
On Jan. 29, POSCO Group held its first Group management meeting of the year, chaired by Chairman In-hwa Chang, to review the Group’s business plans and major pending issues. The meeting focused on strategic measures to strengthen fundamental competitiveness by business segment and to deliver a clear performance rebound by proving management results in quantitative terms.
At the meeting, Chairman Chang cited the challenging environment—including intensifying global trade barriers and prolonged low growth—and emphasized, “To break through stagnation, we must boldly reshape the Group’s fundamentals with ‘profitability’ at the center.” He also reiterated that the Group will shift into a high-intensity emergency management mode to restore market confidence by delivering overwhelming results that exceed its management targets.
First, in the steel business, POSCO Group will reinforce a stable profit structure through structural cost innovation and expanded sales of high value-added products. This year, it will accelerate the transition to decarbonization by commencing construction of a hydrogen reduction steelmaking demo plant and completing the Gwangyang electric arc furnace, while fully rolling out the “complete localization strategy” in global markets. To that end, the Group plans to steadily advance the Louisiana steel mill project in the U.S., cooperation with Cleveland-Cliffs, and the establishment of a joint venture for an integrated steel mill in India.
For growth businesses such as secondary battery materials and infrastructure, POSCO Group will leverage favorable market conditions—such as a strong exchange-rate environment and firmer lithium prices—as strategic opportunities to accelerate clear and visible profit creation compared with last year. In secondary battery materials, the Group will fully begin commercial lithium production at POSCO-Argentina and complete the acquisition of an equity stake in a lithium mine with Mineral Resources in Australia, thereby converting its investments to date into meaningful earnings and driving tangible performance improvement.
In particular, Chairman Chang stressed that the energy business must establish itself as the Group’s “Next Core,” connecting steel and secondary battery materials. To achieve this, he said POSCO Group will continue investments to expand LNG production capacity and strengthen global trading capabilities, thereby expanding the energy business’ role as a core profit engine for the Group.
In addition, safety management innovation and faster AX (AI Transformation) were presented as key tasks for reshaping the Group’s fundamentals. Chairman Chang defined AI as a key driver that will determine the Group’s future, and said the Group will maximize enterprise-wide efficiency by adopting AI in manufacturing sites to secure a super-gap technology edge and by expanding AI adoption across office functions.
Closing the meeting, Chairman Chang said, “POSCO’s strength is finding opportunity even in a crisis and making a leap forward,” underscoring that this year will be the most critical one for the Group. He also reaffirmed, “With meticulous planning and overwhelming execution, we must turn future growth investments into concrete outcomes,” adding, “Let’s make this a year in which we clearly prove the Group’s fundamental competitiveness in numbers.”
Meanwhile, the quarterly POSCO Group management meeting is a forum to review the Group’s mid- to long-term strategy and key issues. The meeting was attended by Chairman In-hwa Chang and other Group executives, including CEOs of major business companies.
▲Chairman In-hwa Chang chairs the Group Technology Strategy Meeting held in March 2025.