Ms. Võ Thị Hồng Vân is one of the female managers at POSCO Vietnam. She is active and devoted to her work without losing her bright face. Currently, every CSR activities conducted by POSCO Vietnam are managed by her. She restlessly visits many regions where POSCO Vietnam can give a helping hand. Once she finds out where to, and what to, do for socially neglected people, she discusses the matter with local authorities and undertakes surveys to actualize feasible CSR plans for volunteering activities.

How It All Began…

When we asked how she first started working at POSCO Vietnam, Ms. Võ Thị Hồng Vân said it was almost like a destined path. “Working for POSCO Vietnam began as a coincidence and now it has become my destiny. In the beginning of 2008, I was working in Korea and I heard that POSCO Vietnam was recruiting secretaries. I was quite busy then so I couldn’t think of anything else than my tasks.” A year later, she finally joined POSCO Vietnam and started working as General Director’s secretary. “Over the two years I worked at the position, I had opportunities to develop my relationships with decision makers and top-level officers at Ba Ria-Vung Tau province, where POSCO Vietnam is located.”

It was later that she transferred from General Director’s office to Logistics Department as an assistant of General Manager. “I always love to have new experiences and this is why I was transferred. In my opinion, changing work position is a way to have new opportunities and challenges to learn new things and to study new knowledge.”

She added, “I loved the work at Marketing Logistics Department because I learned about trading and business, which I could also leverage with my experience from Korea. It helped my ability to coop with the works I was assigned to.” After a brief period, Ms. Võ Thị Hồng Vân was named as CSR Team Manager and moved to where she belongs now, POSCO Vietnam’s External Relations Department.

Becoming POSCO Vietnam’s CSR Team Manager

‘Hello, POSCO’ asked how working for the company’s CSR activities differs from her past work experiences. She smiled and said, “Regarding CSR activities, it was a big work and a new area to our company. CSR activity is not simply a concept but also needs to be carried out to give positive impacts on our surroundings, customers, partners, employees and communities. Therefore, this work needs specialized knowledge of all fields.”

We asked more questions about the quality one needs to become a professional CSR manager. Ms. Võ Thị Hồng Vân replied, “If you have a narrow set of experiences and knowledge for CSR, this work can be a challenging one. To fulfill all the roles required in this department, you need to study more about CSR, and master the principles and strategies of POSCO. This can help us to brainstorm how to engage the current social demands we face. If you succeed in meeting the demands, the result will naturally lead into building up a good image of POSCO Vietnam amid local communities.”

Awareness and Social Responsibility POSCO Vietnam Holds For Local Community

POSCO Vietnam is keeping its pace up to meet more economically and socially challenged people in local communities. “The principle of POSCO Vietnam is ‘Always Cooperate and Grow with Local Community – Business Go with CSR Activity.’ For the past few years, POSCO Vietnam has actively been implementing a wide range of social activities. This includes granting scholarships to the poor students who cannot afford their school fees and building houses with love for the households who have no shelters.”

“We also collected garbage at the beach to protect the environment and gave supports for the senior citizens, physically challenged people and children without parents. These CSR activities are all undertaken to contribute for the awareness and responsibility POSCO Vietnam conveys in the local community. The ‘POSCO Dream Village’ project is a great illustration of the purpose as well.”

Something To Be Proud Of And Worthwhile

Now, it was time to listen to her story: what she feels when working as POSCO Vietnam’s CSR Manager. “I have participated in almost all CSR activities at POSCO Vietnam since I joined. Each campaign has its own beautiful meaning, portrayed in different places and different moments. One of the beauties I witnessed was when the board members and POSCO Vietnam’s employees joined hands to collect garbage for drainage of Tan Hoa Commune.”

“It was a really hot summer day, burning everything underneath the Sun. Not to mention the awful smell we had to endure! However, the volunteers from POSCO Vietnam did not turn around. We continued our work there without losing smiles on our faces. The feeling I received at Tan Hoa Commune touched me and it is an unforgettable experience. “

Throughout the interview, we could see Ms.Võ Thị Hồng Vân’s face with full of joy and the sense of accomplishments. She truly believed that what she was doing for the local communities will open up bright future for those who received supports from POSCO Vietnam. We must say, she is not the only one counting for the change, because we all know POSCO’s global CSR activities will deliver a wonderful path for everyone around the world.

As a part of ‘Habitat Vietnam’ project, the houses were built over the past two months by the volunteers from POSCO Vietnam, the experienced participants from Habitat Vietnam and the students who were granted with POSCO’s scholarship in Vietnam.

Houses with Love Deliver Shelters for Many Locals

Tran Minh, one of the local residents who can now live in the houses built by POSCO expressed his gratitude. “I am really happy to receive such a beautiful house. From now, I don’t need to worry about rain or flood any more. This will be a happy home and I would like to send POSCO a deep gratitude. This will change my life completely.”

POSCO SS VINA’s General Director, Ryu Ju-yeol also shared his overwhelming feelings during the ceremony. He said, “POSCO has always been proud to support local communities, as we did in Gwangyang and Pohang. For our overseas operations, POSCO also puts its best effort for the community development.” “I hope that the lives of Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province residents get better via this house-building project,” he added.

Launching IT Room For Tan Hoa Commune

POSCO Vietnam also launched an IT room to provide job trainings for socially neglected residents at Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province’s Tan Hoa Commune. POSCO sponsored eleven computers and other necessary equipment for the facility in order to train IT skills for the locals.

Upon the launch, Manager of POSCO Volunteers, Yang Weon-jun said “I would like to thank POSCO volunteers for all the effort they have put to make this project come true. This IT facility will help the local residents to earn their own livings with the knowledge from the trainings they will receive here.” The IT room will be managed by Kim Kwang-seok, a general manager of representative office of POSCO ICT in HCMC, Park Yong-nam, a deputy general manager of POSCO ICT and other POSCO employees.

Bringing the sharing culture of POSCO to Vietnamese Students

25 POSCO Scholarship students from the Vietnam National University of HCMC (VNU) and University of Da Lat participated in this project and they played a major role in building love-houses at Tan Hoa Commune.

When I asked Phan Nguyen Vu, a 3rd year student from VNU, about his participation in the project, he told me, “I am not used to the voluntary activities in Vietnam. I think it’s very interesting to take part in and to find the profound meanings of this activity.” He also said he would like to thank POSCO for giving him a chance to be part of the heart-warming project.

In the near future, POSCO Vietnam will organize more volunteer campaigns with the local Vietnamese students in various areas. I will keep tracking POSCO’s humane supports for Vietnam and also share the moments with you at ‘Hello, POSCO.’

Meeting with Female Leader in POSCO IDPC

I had a great privilege to interview Ms. Yu-ran Seo, the Managing Director of POSCO’s India Delhi Steel Processing Center (POSCO IDPC), who has effectively positioned herself alongside with other POSCO leaders. My first interaction with Ms. Seo was back in 2010, when I was working at POSCO HQ in Seoul. She was a very elegant, charming, smart and outspoken Korean lady I had ever met. After coming to India, she has perfectly balanced her work and social life here, interacting and melting with Indian culture very well. Besides, she has been very successful in achieving her goals in the world of Steel. As a global storyteller, I would like to share my candid and impressive conversation with Ms. Seo with ‘Hello, POSCO.’

Could you tell us a little bit about yourself?

[dropcap style=”1″ size=”3″]I[/dropcap]  joined POSCO in October 1990. I had worked in Foreign Procurement Department for the first 6 years and shifted to Export Department, where I spent most of my career. I came to settle down here in Gurgaon, India in August 2010 as a General Manager of Marketing & Sales of POSCO-IDPC. Two months ago, I was appointed to the post of Managing Director of the same company.

How is your life in India? Is it very different from Korea?

[dropcap style=”1″ size=”3″]B[/dropcap]efore coming to India, I never lived and worked overseas. So far, I have observed that India is a very dynamic country with full of opportunities. Although some of my acquaintances worry about me living abroad, I am doing really fine here. Of course it is difficult to live in somewhere as a foreigner but I don’t mind those minor inconveniences that much. I try to have fun in India and thank all the bright sides regarding more business opportunities and meeting very nice people.

What is unique about the services/products IDPC provides?

[dropcap style=”1″ size=”3″]P[/dropcap]OSCO IDPC provides a wide range of high quality steel materials in partnership with POSCO and POSCO Maharashtra. Utilizing high-end facilities like wide slitter, wide shearer, TWB and blanking machines, we supply processed steel material as well as raw steel coils. Our main customers are Marti-Suzuki, Tata Motors, Hero Motocorp., LG Electronics India and many other local OEM companies and vendors.

You have spent several years in POSCO. How has your journey been?
What lessons could you learn?

[dropcap style=”1″ size=”3″]B[/dropcap]efore joining POSCO, I never imagined that I would be working here for more than 22 years. It is really hard to put in words how wonderful the experiences were for me at POSCO. It has been a journey with many exciting moments. Also, I learned about how we should approach the concept of ‘People’ in workplaces. I personally think ‘People’ matter the most as we generate all the masterpieces as well as disasters. It may sound like clichéd but ‘Attitude’ is also very vital when working with your colleagues. These are the lessons I have learned from POSCO.

How does it feel to be a Managing Director of IDPC?

[dropcap style=”1″ size=”3″]W[/dropcap]hen I first heard the announcement, it came to me as a huge pressure and responsibility. On the other hand, I also felt happy with the fact that I can stay longer here with reliable and beloved POSCO IDPC staff. I was also excited that we could continue working together for the development of our business in line with Indian economy’s progress.

Challenge, motivation and Mantras of POSCO India’s female leader

How do you motivate yourself and stay as a successful business woman?

[dropcap style=”1″ size=”3″]I[/dropcap]n fact, I feel unfamiliar with the term ‘success’. I would rather say that I am happy to be working at where I am now, with continuous challenges, errors, frustrations and failures. Whenever I feel lost, I try to make myself resilient through reading good books or listening to inspirational music. I believe in appreciating oneself as incomplete. With such approach, you can drive yourself to learn from others and stay motivated to develop yourself.

As a female, did you experience any particular setbacks at workplace?

[dropcap style=”1″ size=”3″]T[/dropcap]here were some tough times when I was frustrated and depressed during my career in marketing field. However, I don’t think those happened because of the fact that I am a woman. I would say it was quite challenging to find the balance between work and family so as most other female Korean workers generally tackle.

POSCO encourages women empowerment and there are many young female prospects working with us. Do you have any words of wisdom for them?

[dropcap style=”1″ size=”3″]I[/dropcap]’d like to give these two Mantras, made by myself, to my fellows. That is, “Attitude is everything” and “Try to be trusty than clever.”

Yes, I totally agree with her. ‘Attitude is everything’ as it can shape our competence and career as POSCO’s future leaders. Our conversation was highly inspiring and impressive. I felt the working women in various social spectrums need to engage actively with their tasks to achieve what they want. I will be coming back to ‘Hello, POSCO’ with more news and inspiring stories from India.