Prioritizing the acquisition of high-quality resources… Chairman In-hwa Chang: “We will diversify the lithium supply chain and leap forward as the world’s No. 1 lithium company”

POSCO Holdings will invest a total of KRW 1.1 trillion to secure high-quality lithium resources in Australia and Argentina, aiming to strengthen its competitiveness in raw materials for secondary battery materials.

This initiative is part of POSCO Group’s secondary battery materials business strategy, which prioritizes securing high-quality resources through swift and aggressive investments in global lithium assets, thereby enhancing cost competitiveness and ensuring a stable supply of raw materials.

On November 11, POSCO Holdings decided to acquire a 30% stake in a newly established intermediate holding company of Mineral Resources, a leading Australian mining company. The investment amounts to approximately USD 765 million, or about KRW 1 trillion.

Through this investment, POSCO Holdings will be able to stably secure 270,000 tons of lithium concentrate annually from Mineral Resources’ globally top-tier lithium mines — the Wodgina Mine and the Mt. Marion Mine in Western Australia. This figure reflects the planned production capacity expansion of the two mines and is equivalent to producing 37,000 tons of lithium hydroxide, enough to power approximately 860,000 electric vehicles.

The strategic equity investment in the Australian lithium mines will allow POSCO Holdings to participate in mine management and secure dividend income, with plans to pursue phased business expansion into lithium concentrate refining when the market enters a full growth phase.

In addition, POSCO Holdings is accelerating the acquisition of high-quality brine lithium resources.

On November 5, POSCO Holdings decided to invest USD 65 million (approximately KRW 95 billion) to acquire 100% of the shares in the Argentine subsidiary of Lithium South (LIS), a Canadian resource development company that owns mining rights within the Hombre Muerto salt lake in Argentina.

Having already acquired key mining rights in the Hombre Muerto salt lake in 2018, POSCO Holdings will, through this adjacent mining rights acquisition, secure additional resources and land in one of the world’s highest-grade lithium deposits. The company expects strong synergies with its existing lithium projects in Argentina, leveraging already established infrastructure and operational know-how.

Chairman In-hwa Chang of POSCO Group stated, “Securing raw material competitiveness is paramount to becoming the world’s No. 1 lithium company. We will diversify the global lithium supply chain through active investments.”

Chris Ellison, CEO of Mineral Resources, said, “We are pleased to see our solid partnership with POSCO Group, which began with the Onslow iron ore mine project in Western Australia, expand into the lithium business. We look forward to combining our capabilities to continuously create value at the Wodgina and Mt. Marion mines.”

Since Chairman In-hwa Chang took office last year, POSCO Group has reorganized its business portfolio into “2 Core (Steel & Secondary Battery Materials) + New Engine (New Businesses).” Through future growth investments in its core businesses, the group aims to go beyond its long-standing mission of “patriotism through steelmaking” to realize “materials patriotism” by localizing secondary battery materials and contributing to the enhancement of national economic and industrial competitiveness.

▲ The Wodgina lithium mine in Western Australia, owned and operated by Australian Mineral Resources.

▲ Hombre Muerto lithium salt lake, Argentina.

Early investment to respond actively to customer demand for lithium supply…Stages 3 and 4 are also progressing rapidly to produce 100,000t annually

Lithium carbonate will be produced in Argentina, then undergo final processing to lithium hydroxide in Korea

The salt water, ore, and dead battery lithium businesses are expected to produce 300,000t/year by 2030

POSCO Holdings decided to invest in the second stage of a salt water lithium commercialization factory in Argentina.

On Oct. 7, POSCO Holdings reported the second investment business to its board and they approved the production of lithium hydroxide with salt water in Argentina. POSCO Holdings decided to start the second stage of the business now instead of next year due to increased demand for lithium at home and by foreign customers amid booming investment in secondary battery sector with the start of IRA from the United States.

The total amount of the investment is about $1.09 billion (about KRW 1.5 trillion), and financing will be conducted by POSCO Argentina and a newly established domestic corporation.

This investment is equal to 25,000t of lithium hydroxide, and a factory will be built on a salt lake in Argentina, and the production of lithium carbonate for lithium hydroxide for use in final battery manufacturing will begin in the first half of next year and will be completed in the second half of 2025.

The 25,000t of lithium hydroxide produced by the second business is on the scale of 600,000 electronic vehicle units, and it will be supplied to POSCO Chemical and domestic companies.

POSCO Holdings has a plan to speed up investment in the third and fourth stages for early production of 100,000 tons per year of salt water lithium in Argentina to solve the problem of customers’ insufficient supply. Engaging in business of salt water and ore based lithium, waste battery recycling, and so on, POSCO Holdings aims to enter the global top 3 with a production system of 300,000 tons by 2030.

POSCO Group acquired the salt lake in Argentina in advance and the Montgomery & Associates, a global consulting firm specialized in salt water lithium, verified that the estimated deposits of lithium at the lake amounts to 13.5 million tons, six-fold the amount that was initially estimated before the acquisition. Considering mining possibility and yield rate, it is expected to produce a minimum of 2.8 million tons. Construction of the first stage factory, which will produce 25,000 tons annually, began in March 2021 and the target is to complete it by the first half of 2024.

▲ The trial factory for salt water lithium in Argentina. Lithium is a key material in secondary battery cathode materials.

▲ POSCO is exploring lithium in a salt lake in Argentina.

Earlier this month POSCO opened its first lithium extraction plant, PosLX, in Korea that is expected to produce 2,500 tons of lithium carbonate per year – enough to produce about 70 million laptop batteries. While most lithium carbonate is extracted from salt deposits, POSCO was the first to develop a way to extract it from wasted batteries.

Lithium Demand to Continue Rising

Demand for lithium-ion batteries is expected to rise exponentially in the coming years. Tesla, Chevrolet, Nissan, Toyota, and other upstarts are all expecting increased demand as their electric vehicles begin rolling off production lines. Overall, worldwide demand for lithium carbonate is expected to rise from 66,000 tons in 2015 to over 180,000 tons by 2025.

“With the supply of electric cars and the development of smart grid technology, the market is expected to result in massive growth.” – Ohjoon Kwon, CEO

POSCO Reduced Extraction Time to 8 hours

Starting in 2010 when CEO Ohjoon Kwon was the Director at the Research Institute of Industrial Science & Technology (RIST), POSCO began working on developing a high-efficiency technique for extracting lithium from water.

In 2010, POSCO began development of a new chemically based lithium extraction technology that is able to reduce extraction time while also improving efficiency and reliance on overseas imports. The first pilot program began in 2013 and POSCO recently became the world’s first corporation to commercialize chemically based lithium extraction technology.

Lithium extraction traditionally takes anywhere from 12-18 months using a slow evaporation technique. However, POSCO’s new extraction method takes from 8 hours up to one month while also offering a purity rate of 99.9% and increasing the lithium recovery rate to over 80%.

Furthering POSCO’s work in lithium extraction, in 2011 POSCO partnered with RIST to further establish pilot production facilities with an annual capacity of two tons. Since then, POSCO has successfully completed more pilot production facilities overseas at Chile’s Maricunga Salt Lake (2013), Argentina’s Pozuelos Salt Lake (2014), and Argentina’s Cauchari Salt Lake (2015). The lithium processing plant at the Pozuelos Salt Lake in Argentina will have an annual processing capacity of 2,500 tons of high-purity lithium that can be used in rechargeable car batteries.

Pozuelos Salt Lake in Argentina

Eco-friendly Extraction Using Recycled Batteries

POSCO has also commercialized a new eco-friendly technology used to produce lithium carbonate. While lithium is typically extracted from salt, for the first time ever, POSCO developed a way to extract lithium from recycled batteries.

The lithium carbonate produced from these recycled secondary batteries was tested in January 2017 and found to be of equal quality in terms of purity, charge, discharge efficiency, and capacity. This technology is used at POSCO’s PosLX plant with an annual capacity of 2,500 tons, and will help supply POSCO’s battery making partners such as LG Chem, Samsung SDI, and POSCO ESM, a subsidiary that produces cathodes for secondary batteries.

With POSCO’s unique technologies in place, POSCO is planning to increase production capacities to over 40,000 tons of lithium – both at home and abroad.

From left to right: Jae-chun Song, chairman of Gwangyang City Council, Hyun-bok Jeong, mayor of Gwangyang, Gi-jong Woo, deputy governor of South Jeolla Province, POSCO CEO Ohjoon Kwon, Ung-beom Lee, president of LG Chem and Nam-seong Cho, president of Samsung SDI who can be seen pressing symbolic buzzers to show that the plant is now online.

CEO Ohjoon Kwon’s Commitment to Grow POSCO’s Non-Steel Business

Since 2010 when he was a director at RIST, POSCO CEO Ohjoon Kwon has worked to promote the advancement of lithium extraction technology. His work can be seen in POSCO’s recent efforts to significantly cut extraction time while also finding new and eco-friendly sources of lithium carbonate.

POSCO Chairman Ohjoon Kwon gives a celebratory speech at a newly built lithium extract plant in Gwangyang, South Jeolla Province, on Feb. 7.

When Kwon was appointed as POSCO’s CEO in 2014, he focused on strengthening POSCO’s steel businesses. However, as he begins his second term, he has emphasized the need for POSCO to search for profitable growth engines in order to strengthen its global competitiveness.

“Our vision is what propelled us to keep going in spite of many difficulties and limitations.” – Ohjoon Kwon, CEO

In the world’s growing lithium market, POSCO is determined to become a leading supplier. While strengthening its non-steel business segments, POSCO will continue working to provide innovative technologies that are efficient, effective, and eco-friendly.

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1. POSCO Announces New Steel Sheets at Detroit Motor Show

POSCO became the first-ever steelmaker to attend the North American International Auto Show. From January 11 to 24, POSCO revealed many of its automotive-related steel products, such as twinning-induced plasticity steel, hot press forming steel, 1GPa-TRIP and PosM-XP. POSCO already supplies automotive steel sheets to many of the world’s leading automotive and component manufacturers, and has been named “This Year’s Supplier” from leading companies like Toyota and GM.

2. POSCO Ranks as 40^th Most Sustainable Corporation in the World

The 2016 Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations report by World Index ranked POSCO 40th, making it the only steel company in the world to make the list. Announced at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the list examines 12 key performance indicators to come up with the ranking, rating companies for R&D innovation, energy efficiency, governance and more. Coming in at 40^th, POSCO was the second-highest ranked Korean company, beating many of the world’s biggest businesses, like GE and Apple, despite the market difficulties faced last year.

3. POSCO Expands Lithium Manufacturing Business

POSCO President Ohjoon Kwon led a groundbreaking ceremony in Salta, Argentina on February 14 for a commercial lithium processing plant. The lithium processing plant will be located at Pozuelos Salt Lake, 4,000 meters above sea level, with the capacity to produce 2,500 tons of high-purity lithium annually. Lithium, which is a key element in many important technologies, such as electric car batteries, was identified by POSCO in 2010 as a main business in developing production technologies. With world lithium market has increased from 70,000 tons in 2002 to 170,000 tons in 2014 and with the growing popularity of electric cars is expected to reach 270,000 tons by 2020.

4. POSCO’s Stainless Steel (STS) Use for Membrane-Type LNG Carriers

Beginning in February, POSCO began supplying all the stainless steel for membrane-type Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) carriers being produced by Korean Gas Corporation. Membrane-type carriers refers to ships that use a single, non-cylindrical tank to hold their LNG cargo, making them more efficient and economical. Korea Gas Corporation developed its own membrane design technology in 2014, so POSCO does not have to pay any royalties abroad for the important new design.

5. POSCO E&C Awarded $650 Million Project in Panama

POSCO E&C signed a major deal with AES Corporation, a U.S.-based power company, to construct a combined cycle power plant and gas terminal in Colon, Panama. The plant will have a power generation capacity of 380MW, the largest in Panama and enough to supply up to 15 million households. The gas terminal will have a storage capacity of 180,000 m³. With the $650 million Panama deal, POSCO E&C has achieved about $5.6 billion in orders in Latin America over the past decade, making the company a major player in the energy plant market in the region.

As you can see, POSCO has started 2016 with a bang, with a wide range of exciting new projects all over the world, in steel, energy, sustainability and other fields. It’s an exciting start to the year, and a sign of even more exciting things to come.

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POSCO CEO Ohjoon Kwon, fourth from left, with company executive during a ceremony to mark the construction of the steelmaker’s lithium processing plant in Salta, Argentina, February 14 (local time)

“We have brought our advanced and environmental-friendly technology to extract and process lithium,” said Kwon at the ceremony. “We will continue to expand our operations in Argentina and boost cooperation with our partners here to create a win-win solution for all.”

POSCO’s lithium processing plant will be located at Pozuelos Salt Lake, which rises 4,000 meters above sea level. It will have an annual processing capacity of 2,500 tons of high-purity lithium for rechargeable batteries, and will supply them to domestic and international mineral manufacturing enterprises that produce minerals for car batteries. Considering the fact that it takes an average of 40 kilograms of high-purified lithium to make a single electric car battery, this equates to about 60,000 electric cars a year.

Pozuelos Lake, which spans 106 square kilometers and is estimated to have about 1.5 million tons of lithium reserves, is considered to be an optimal location to produce lithium.

Pozuelos Salt Lake is considered to be an optimal location for producing lithium. POSCO plans to extract and process about 2,500 tons of lithium annually after completing the construction of the plant here by the end of this year.

Earlier this year, POSCO signed a supply contract with Lithea Inc. of Argentina, the company owning the mining rights of Pozuelo Salt Lake and securing the stable permissions to access the lake. POSCO also set a solid foundation for entering the lithium business through developing an independent technology that is economically-friendly.

The Pozuelo Salt Lake plant will use POSCO’s innovative and independent technology that dramatically reduces the lithium extraction period, which usually takes more than a year, through chemical reaction.

POSCO’s high-efficiency lithium extract technology, which was developed with support from the energy resource technology development project led by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy in 2010, does not require a large area of salt farm compared to the conventional evaporation and extraction method, and is less affected by changes in climate. Moreover, since there is very little loss when extracting lithium, it is possible to extract the same amount of lithium, compared to the conventional process, even by using a less amount of salt water. Therefore, POSCO’s high-efficiency lithium extract technology is an economical and environmental-friendly technology.

POSCO’s lithium business is one of the main businesses that has taken the lead in developing production technologies since 2010, when POSCO CEO Ohjoon Kwon was the Director at the Research Institute of Industrial Science & Technology (RIST). Since the development of the company’s high-efficiency lithium extract technology in 2010, POSCO has been beefing up pilot production from 2 tons to 200 tons, while examining the economic viability of the technology.

The world’s lithium market has grown from 70,000 tons in 2002 to 170,000 tons in 2014, and is a promising market that is projected to grow to 270,000 tons by 2020. Of this, the lithium market for electric car batteries, which will be produced by POSCO, is expected to be 135,000 tons, accounting for half of the entire market. Nonetheless, the Korean battery manufacturers that depend entirely on lithium imports are currently suffering from unstable supplies and price hikes.

With an increase in sales of electric cars worldwide including China, which is aiming to further promote electric cars across the nation, the lithium industry is welcoming POSCO for its new lithium business. Due to the recent shortage of lithium supplies and price increases, global battery manufacturers are already starting to discuss the possibility of lithium supply contracts with POSCO.

Meanwhile, CEO Ohjoon Kwon had an exclusive meeting with Mauricio Macri, the president of Argentina, on February 15 following the ceremony marking the construction of the steelmaker’s lithium processing plant in Argentina. Kwon discussed POSCO’s excellent lithium extract technology and the technology development process. He also talked about future plans for building a consistent and cooperative relationship with Argentina for lithium development.

POSCO Lithium Business Progress

2010: Development of the world’s first independent lithium extract technology using chemical reaction

2011: Establishment and operation of pilot production facilities with RIST (Annual Capa: 2 tons)

– Process aim was 100% achieved and qualification process for enlargement was completed

2013: Completion of pilot production at Maricunga Salt Lake in Chile (Annual Capa: 20 tons)

2014: Completion of pilot production at Pozuelos Salt Lake in Argentina (Annual Capa: 20 tons)

2015: Completion of pilot production at Cauchari Salt Lake in Argentina (Annual Capa: 200 tons)

2016: Start of construction of lithium processing plant at Pozuelos Salt Lake in Argentina (Annual Capa: 2,500 tons); Projected to complete construction and begin production this year

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The company held an Investor Relations meeting on April 21, where it announced that it had recorded 15.1 trillion won in sales revenue and 731 billion won in business profit on a consolidated basis for the first quarter.

Although sales revenue decreased slightly compared to the same period last year, business profit figures remained the same, thanks primarily to the expansion of the sales volume of higher value-added products, such as automotive steel, and the profits it has earned from its gas fields in Myanmar. Meanwhile, profitability also slightly increased by 4.8%. Net profit significantly increased, recorded at 370 billion won.

Solution Marketing Contributes to Increased Sales

With the expansion of solution marketing targeting clients in the main areas of industrial demand, such as automotive, shipbuilding, home appliances and construction, the sales of high value-added steel and world premium products have increased from 32.7% to 36% since the first quarter of last year. In particular, with POSCO’s automotive steel being recognized for its quality and technical value, it recorded 2.07 million tons of sales, which represents a 6% rise in year-on-year sales. This growth was achieved by expanding domestic sales as well as exports to automotive companies in Japan and Europe.

An Update on Global Projects

Daewoo International’s gas field in Myanmar has maintained stable business profit following its initiating commercial production, having swung into the black in December of last year. POSCO Energy can expect stable profits as the commercial operation of the Mong-Doung 2, a coal-fired power plant in Vietnam, which is partially owned (30%) by POSCO Energy, was launched in March.

High Value-Added Product Expansion Leads to Business Profit Increases

POSCO recorded 6.79 trillion won in sales revenue and 622 billion won in business profit. Despite the decrease in sales prices, business profit was able to increase by more than 20% from the level of last year thanks to the expansion of high value-added products, while profitability stood at 9.2%, which is 2.2% higher than that of last year’s numbers.

This is the result of customer-oriented solution marketing, which provides financial support to application technologies for the products customers want from the stage of product development. In other words, solution marketing has been largely responsible for the increase in high value-added product sales.

The volume of product sales through solution marketing activities is 470,000 tons, and includes the substitution of STS steel in heat pipes for chillers, the supplying of thick plates guaranteed by Brittle Crack Arrest (BCA) for the first time in the world, and the development of magnesium panels, a new lightweight material for cars. This volume represents an increase of 9% compared to the fourth quarter of last year.

New Growth Businesses and Organizational Reengineering

POSCO has discovered new sources of profit using the distinct technologies of steel and materials through the selection and concentration of new growth businesses. POSCO has established a foundation for the export of FINEX facilities and technologies by signing an MOA for the installation of FINEX plant No. 1 with the Indian steel company Mesco Steel. Furthermore, POSCO proved its mass production technology by succeeding in the operation of a bulk storage demonstration plant installed in Argentina for the processing of lithium, a material used in secondary batteries.

Meanwhile, POSCO is currently undergoing a process of organizational reengineering with the disposal of non-core assets and low-profit businesses. Specifically, POSCO PLANTEC is experiencing reorganization efforts, such as the streamlining of personnel and the withdrawal of deficit businesses, and it has signed an MOU for the share sale of POSCO E&C with Public Investment Fund (PIF), the Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund.

On behalf of POSCO, I am delighted to be able to welcome the New Year with Daewoo International, POSCO E&C, POSCO Energy, POSCO CHEMTECH, POSCO ICT, as well as all the overseas staff from around the world, including China, Japan, Indonesia, Vietnam, India, and Mexico.  I wish you all a very Happy New Year! My POSCO Family!

My POSCO Family!

Last year, “MV POSCO” risked capsizing under torrential trading conditions, with the decline in profitability and stock price, the downgrade in our credit rating, and the sluggish performance of several investment projects. But, 2014 also marked a momentous year in which we embarked on our ambitious journey to become “POSCO the Great”.

In order to achieve this, we have been implementing an all-out transformation. We have made innovation an integral part of our operations by focusing on four strategic agendas: the enhancement of core competitiveness in steel, a thorough review and critical selection of new growth businesses, dramatic improvements in our financial structure, and reforms to our management infrastructure.

As we commence the New Year, I would like to express my utmost gratitude to all members of the POSCO family for supporting the company’s innovation agenda and implementing the reforms.

Through your tireless efforts and contributions, we have been able to complete the first phase of our midterm management objectives without any major issues.

I would like to take this opportunity to especially thank the employees at Indonesia Krakatau-POSCO, POSCO, and Daewoo International for their immense contribution to reaching this target.

Dear my POSCO Family!

Looking back on 2014, I would like to emphasize not only our achievement in reaching our management goals financially and quantitatively, but also the way we demonstrated the operational versatility to improvise our strategic direction, adapt to the constantly shifting industry environment, and collectively overcome the obstacles that stood before us.

As I look back, I am fearless about the challenges that lay ahead for our organization as I know that together we stand strong, determined and ready to respond with conviction

My members of the POSCO Family!

As we stand at the start of 2015, the business environment offers few signs of improvement.

Although the global economy is forecast to improve slightly with the recovery in the United States, any significant breakthrough is likely to be hindered by stagnant domestic demand, the slowdown in China, and the relative appreciation of the Won against the Yen.

Global steel demand is at a standstill, with declining prices resulting in a tighter squeeze in margins. For our subsidiaries, competition and business conditions are expected to be onerous.

I cannot reiterate enough how 2015 ought to be the Year of Perseverance to realize increased profitability and improved competitiveness.The critical phrase that I would like you to focus on as we usher in the New Year is “financial result generation.”

As we begin the second year of the Three-year Midterm Plan, it is vitally important that we demonstrate our executive ability for the key business agenda and move closer to our goal of genuinely actualizing favorable financial results.

My adored POSCO Family!

Let me share with you the five factors that will help guide us in the progressive direction of accomplishing the desired midterm financial results.

First, we must strengthen our revenue structure by providing solutions.

We have accelerated our premium product strategy in recent years by integrating technology, sales and solution marketing. This strategy was identified after due consideration as being the best way to ensure our longevity in this fiercely competitive business environment.

In the New Year, we must demonstrate progressive solution marketing by focusing on the development of World Premium products. We must expand the infrastructure of our global solutions to promote effective commercial support by TSC and other members of our solutions network. In the case of our family companies that engage predominantly in contract-based businesses, we have to mobilize our group’s capabilities and reinforce our solutions business in order to secure first-mover advantage by proposing and developing customized client-centric projects.

The second guiding factor is the acceleration of the ongoing organizational restructuring and the stabilization of our balance sheet.

Last year, we established the master plan for our group-wide restructuring and moved forward with the overhaul of our non-core operations. However, there is still a long way to go. This year, we plan to leave no stone unturned on our search to swiftly reorganize and fundamentally reinvigorate operations that are unprofitable. We must also internally minimize waste by reducing our inventory and working capital while still effectively managing our investments and any other assets that we may have neglected in the past.

Third, POSCO will advocate the proliferation and establishment of a project-based working approach.

This project-based working method is a tactic designed to explore potential projects that can deliver exceptional results and increased profitability with the short-term support of operational resources. Most importantly, the project-based system allows us to achieve quantitative financial performance. Projects that contribute to the realization of financial results will be recognized and adequately compensated. By focusing on discovering lucrative projects and producing tangible results in 2015, I look forward to the ability of project-based working to institute itself as a powerful tool in generating profits and creating a win-win scenario for both company and employees.

The fourth guiding factor is the need to realize the commercialization of our potential growth businesses.  

When I became CEO last March, I suggested that our sustainable future as a business lay in fostering a thorough review and critical selection of new growth businesses. As part of this review and selection of new growth businesses, we must incorporate our competitive technological advantages.  We must call for the advancement of lithium extraction technology in Argentina and nickel refining technology in Pohang to reach the commercialization phase. In addition to improving the performance of our fuel cell systems used in buildings for commercialization, we also need to stabilize our Gwangyang SNG plant’s processing operations in its stages following construction.

The fifth guiding factor is the need to expedite the fortification and augmentation of our group’s operational efficiencies and synergies.

The previous year saw the inauguration of the Value Management Department, which serves as the group’s corporate center, and the selection of key performance indicators for POSCO group’s reinforced goals centered on EVA (economic value-added). This year should be defined by the collaboration we achieve between our family companies specializing in their respective industries for greater operating efficiency, value creation, and synergy formation. We will also continue to expand the coordination and cooperation of overseas businesses by operating several regional headquarters.

My cherished POSCO Family!

I would like to respectfully insist that you maintain your alignment to the group’s strategic direction mentioned above in order that we accomplish the group’s management objectives.  I cannot stress enough that now is the time to propel our operations at full tilt.

Today, “MV POSCO” is no longer fit for purpose: the way of the lone battleship is no more. The role of our subsidiaries and overseas enterprises has become critical, as sales from these two groups account for over half of POSCO Group’s total revenue. These remote vessels of POSCO must assemble as an impregnable armada in order to realize our group-wide vision.  I urge you to give your full commitment to fulfilling this daunting task and exhibit superior competitiveness to reinvigorate our core competencies. That is how we will achieve our midterm goals and establish the foundation for the firm’s long-term prosperity.

My revered POSCO Family! Where do we stand and in which direction are we heading?

It is no exaggeration to state that “MV POSCO” has weathered one of the most calamitous storms since its foundation.

However, more important than the ability to endure is the capability to emerge triumphant. That is true victory.Despite the ominous predicament that stands in our way, let us unite and prevail undefeated to affirm our dignity and pride as part of the “POSCO Identity”.

I wish you all a victorious year in 2015. Once again, allow me to express my unconditional affection and appreciation for my admirable POSCO Family members.

On the first morning of 2015
CEO Ohjoon Kwon

[box] To greet the new year, CEO Ohjoon Kwon has recorded a special message. Please visit the website and take a look [/box]