Senior Researcher Je-ho Cheong POSCO Research Institute

U.S. President Donald Trump : “I’d Like to Buy Greenland”

America’s interest in Greenland is nothing new. In 1867, U.S. Secretary of State William Seward — who orchestrated the purchase of Alaska — first explored the idea. In 1946, President Harry Truman offered Denmark $100 million in gold to buy the island.

In August 2019, when Trump declared, “I’d like to buy Greenland,” Denmark’s Prime Minister dismissed the idea as “absurd.” Later, the Trump administration floated military options and proposed tangible economic incentives to Greenlanders, fueling speculation that his ambitions might actually take shape.

Greenland’s Strategic Value in Security, Resources, and Supply Chains

Greenland is the world’s largest island, situated between North America and Europe, touching both the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans. Covering about 2,166,000 km² — roughly ten times the size of the Korean Peninsula — it has a population of just 56,000. A Danish territory since the 18th century, Greenland declared self-rule on June 21, 2009. While Denmark retains control over defense and foreign affairs, Greenland governs its own resources, judiciary, police, and legislation.

Over 80% of Greenland is covered by ice sheets, but rapid melting due to climate change is unlocking access to untapped resources. The opening of Arctic shipping lanes has further elevated its military, security, and supply chain importance.

A Security Linchpin for U.S. Defense

Greenland serves as an “unsinkable aircraft carrier” aimed at Russia, making it a cornerstone of U.S. defense strategy. The Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland is the U.S. military’s northernmost installation, equipped with early-warning radar to detect ICBM launches. Geographically, it is about 4,400 km from Moscow — roughly half the distance from U.S. mainland bases — enabling faster strike capabilities in a crisis.

Greenland also sits within the GIUK gap (Greenland–Iceland–United Kingdom), a critical maritime choke point since the Cold War that blocks Russian submarines from entering the Atlantic. Full U.S. control over Greenland would significantly strengthen its ability to contain Russian naval forces.

A Resource Powerhouse: Rare Earths to Oil

Greenland is rich in rare earth elements. The KvaneFjeld mine in the south is among the world’s largest deposits, estimated at over 10 million tons — enough to meet global demand for decades. It also contains uranium, lithium, nickel, cobalt, and other critical minerals for electric vehicle batteries. Rare earths essential for EV motors, wind turbines, and missile guidance systems — such as neodymium, praseodymium, and dysprosium — are abundant, making Greenland a prime alternative to China’s dominance in the rare earth supply chain.

The island is also believed to hold vast oil and natural gas reserves. The U.S. Geological Survey estimates the Arctic contains 13% of the world’s undiscovered oil (about 90 billion barrels) and 30% of its undiscovered natural gas. Greenland’s oil reserves alone are estimated at 31 billion barrels — comparable to U.S. shale oil reserves — with significant natural gas deposits offshore.

Gateway to the Arctic Route: A Future Logistics Hub

From a supply chain perspective, Greenland is a strategic prize. In 2018, China released its Arctic Policy White Paper, calling itself a “Near-Arctic State.” In response, the Trump administration made clear its interest in incorporating Greenland. China has since sought to invest in Greenland’s airport expansion and mining projects as part of its “Polar Silk Road” initiative, but the U.S. has pushed back hard.

For example, when Greenland’s autonomous government planned to expand three airports in 2018, China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) submitted a bid. Denmark welcomed the move, but then-U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis objected, saying, “We cannot allow the Chinese Communist Party to build an air base in our backyard.” Under U.S. pressure, China was excluded, and the project was funded by Denmark and the U.S.

The U.S. attempt to purchase Greenland can be viewed as an Arctic‑era extension of the Monroe Doctrine*, aimed at preventing China’s growing influence in the region.

*Monroe Doctrine: A foreign policy declared by President James Monroe in his December 1823 State of the Union address. It emphasized non‑alignment, non‑colonialism, and non‑intervention, and opposed any external power’s attempts to interfere in or colonize the Americas.

Melting ice is opening the Northern Sea Route, which can cut shipping distances by 30–40% compared to the Suez Canal. The Shanghai–Rotterdam route, for instance, is about 20,000 km via the Suez Canal but only 14,000 km via the Arctic. If the Arctic route becomes fully operational, Greenland could emerge as a mega logistics hub — akin to historical Venice or modern-day Singapore.

Currently, the route runs along Russia’s coast. If the U.S. uses Greenland as a base to control the western gateway, it could secure an alternative path and counter Russian influence.

Could Greenland Become Part of the US?

In a January 8 interview with The New York Times, Trump said, “Ownership is very important. There are things you can’t get through leases or treaties that you can get through ownership.” When asked whether Greenland’s acquisition or NATO’s maintenance was more important, he hinted that Greenland could take priority.

For Washington, Greenland is a critical asset in countering China and Russia — militarily, economically, and logistically. Trump’s remark that “my morality comes before international law” underscored his willingness to disrupt the existing order to secure it.

While the U.S. already operates bases in Greenland under agreements with Denmark, it prefers permanent ownership over leases that could be revoked with a change in government. Greenlanders, however, insist: “We are neither Danish nor American — we are Greenlandic. We are not for sale.” They want independence from Denmark but have no desire to become America’s 51st state.

Under Greenland’s 2009 Self-Government Act, its people have the right to decide on independence. While polls show strong support for independence, the island’s heavy reliance on Danish subsidies — over 50% of its budget — makes the prospect risky. Support drops sharply when potential declines in living standards are factored in.

Recently, Trump claimed, “Negotiations have begun, and we are close to an agreement.” Analysts believe he may be shifting from outright ownership to securing broad access rights.

Experts predict that, regardless of sovereignty, the U.S. will likely expand its military and economic footprint in Greenland. If ownership proves unattainable, Washington may seek to broaden military rights through agreements with Denmark and strengthen economic influence via resource deals with Greenland’s autonomous government. Still, climate change and shifting geopolitics could quickly alter Greenland’s fate.

Synergistic Benefits Expected from POSCO Future M’s Materials Technology and Factorial’s Network of Automakers in Korea, Europe, and North America

Explosive Growth in All-Solid-State Battery Applications Expected in Next-Generation Mobility as well as Physical AI Markets, including Humanoids

POSCO Future M is investing in Factorial, a US-based all-solid-state battery company, to lead the future battery market.

POSCO Future M signed an investment agreement with Factorial Inc. on January 7th and completed the investment payment on 26th. This further strengthens their partnership, following the MOU signed by the two companies in November of last year for the development of all-solid-state battery technology.

Through this investment, POSCO Future M plans to prepare for the explosive growth of the all-solid-state battery market, while Factorial will secure a stable supply of high-quality all-solid-state battery materials and strengthen its battery manufacturing competitiveness.

Hong Young-Jun, Head of Technology Research Laboratory, stated, “Both companies have developed materials technology through a close and continuous partnership. This further developed partnership will enable us to secure unrivaled competitiveness in line with the rapidly growing all-solid-state battery market.”

Factorial, a leader in the all-solid-state battery industry headquartered in Massachusetts, is pursuing an IPO on the US stock market. In Korea, it operates a pilot plant for all-solid-state batteries in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province, and is actively expanding its business.

Factorial’s all-solid-state battery platform, Solstice, is known for its superior energy density and safety. Based on this leading technology, it has established partnerships with major automakers in Korea, Europe, and North America. The combination of Factorial’s network competitiveness and POSCO Future M’s materials technology is expected to generate synergy in the future partnership between the two companies.

All-solid-state batteries, which utilize solid electrolytes instead of conventional liquid electrolytes, offer superior energy density and safety, drawing attention as a game changer in the battery market. POSCO Future M has been conducting sample testing of all-solid-state battery cathode materials with Factorial, and among many materials suppliers, POSCO Future M’s materials have been evaluated as superior in terms of quality, including output characteristics.

The all-solid-state battery materials currently being developed by POSCO Future M are expected to find significant applications in next-generation mobility, such as autonomous electric vehicles and urban air mobility (UAM), as well as in physical AI markets, such as humanoids and robotics.

According to global market research firm Statista, the physical AI market is projected to grow from $5 billion (approximately 7 trillion won) in 2020 to $64.3 billion (approximately 94 trillion won) in 2030, at a compound annual growth rate of 23.3%. Morgan Stanley projects the global humanoid market to reach $5 trillion (approximately 7,000 trillion won) by 2050, exceeding the semiconductor market by six times by 2025.

POSCO Future M possesses material design and coating technologies optimized for all-solid-state batteries. As part of the POSCO Group, the company is continuously expanding its portfolio of all-solid-state battery materials, including sulfide-based solid electrolytes and silicon and lithium metal anode materials with superior energy storage capacity.

▲ An employee at POSCO Future M’s Technology Research Laboratory in Sejong operates pilot equipment for cathode material trial production.

▲ Aerial view of POSCO Future M’s Pohang cathode material plant

Since last February, CEO Kwon has visited Siemens, GE and other businesses in Silicon Valley to explore new technologies and expand POSCO Group’s smartization plan. At CES 2018, CEO Kwon saw first-hand the latest smart technologies and plans to implement them to all of POSCO’s core businesses including steel, construction, IT and energy. He also met officials from leading smart companies such as GE and DPR Construction, and examined possibilities for cooperation over commercializing POSCO’s smart solutions.

POSCO Kwon met Heilmann Matthias, President and CEO of Digital Solutions at Baker Hughes General Electric (BHGE). Matthias oversees the digital solution business of GE Group, and the two discussed the development of PosFrame, POSCO’s proprietary smart platform, its compatibility with Predix, GE’s smart platform, as well as the possibility for joint commercialization.

In particular, POSCO ICT is planning to sign an MOU with DPR Construction, the world leader in Smart Construction, to collaborate on smart projects and find opportunities to apply new ICT technologies to construction. Through this MOU, the two companies will cooperate on projects such as constructing and operating highly-efficient, low-cost data centers and smart factories controlled by PosFrame.

CEO Kwon also visited the automobiles, home appliances, smart city and smart home exhibition booths. He examined the latest tech trends of IT utilization in steel-consuming industries to develop compatible materials and steel solutions.

He also made sure to explore electric vehicle (EV) batteries and new IT technologies surrounding EVs, as lithium materials are the new growth engine of the company. CEO Kwon also evaluated the possibility of securing new markets for the group’s construction business at home and abroad.

POSCO Group plans to continue searching for new, innovative solutions to apply to its smartization efforts and actively develop domestic and overseas data centers and smart factory markets.

Cover photo courtesy of BGR.

The POSCO Umbrella Facility is part of POSCO’s initiative to build an “integrated group fund management system.”* POSCO affiliates that are a part of this system will be able to borrow money under the same conditions and at the same interest rates as the rest of the group without the need to negotiate with banks individually. The 10 integrated processing subsidiaries in China attended the signing ceremony.

POSCO China hosted the POSCO Umbrella Facility signing ceremony. Clockwise, from the left back row: Dongwook Han, CEO of BNPP Korea; Seonghee Han, CEO of POSCO China; Wonhee Kim, leader of the Fund Group; Gicheon Eom, head of the integrated processing subsidiary; Yongsam Song, head of the Management Strategy HQ at POSCO China; and, Lawrence Mak, CEO of BNPP China.

POSCO affiliates in China now have three methods in place for funding their operations – the new Umbrella Facility, plus China Cash Management (CCM) and Over Draft (O/D) – allowing them to raise up to US$800 million worth of RMB. Because POSCO China, as the group’s representative subsidiary, is now in charge of raising funds, individual subsidiaries are freed from the need to do so themselves. As a result, individual subsidiaries can concentrate their energy on their business performance.

Also planning on participating in the POSCO Umbrella Facility in the future are the POSCO production subsidiaries in China: Zhangjiagang Pohang Stainless Steel, Qingdao Pohang Stainless Steel and Guangdong CGL. POSCO is planning to solidify the POSCO-style Treasury Center in China by implementing the POSCO Umbrella Facility with five or six banks in addition to BNP Paribas.

* Integrated group fund management system is in which the headquarters takes charge of raising long-term financing, POSCO Asia (POA) raises US dollars, and the representative subsidiaries are in charge of raising funds in local currencies.

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POSCO-America TSC (Technical Service Center) is strengthening its technical services and solution-based marketing support for its US and Mexican clients. The company opened last year with two offices in Mexico City, the capital and largest city in Mexico; and Birmingham, Alabama. Past January, it opened one more place of business in Houston, Texas. Based in these three cities, POSCO-America TSC is engaging in technical services and EVI (Early Vendor Involvement) activities for its clients in North and Central America, in which automotive and energy steel products are in high demand. Mexico is a global automotive industry hub. World’s top-notch automakers such as Nissan, GM and Volkswagen have active business operations in the country.

POSCO-America TSC Mexico City is currently focusing on automotive industry, providing technical services while working hard to develop new clients. It is also pursuing a certificate in automotive steel products. In an effort to increase the sales of steel products produced by POSCO and its local sales unit, POSCO-Mexico, the company is exchanging information with local processing centers and distribution corporations. POSCO-America TSC is scheduled to open a new business operation in Detroit, Michigan, within this year. Many global automobile manufacturers have headquarters and R&D centers in the city. Once it is opened, the Detroit office will dedicate itself to providing technical services for car companies in North America, as POSCO-America TSC Birmingham does.

Houston along with Scotland’s Aberdeen are two of the global energy industry hubs.  Located in Houston are companies from various sectors of the energy industry, such as Exxon Mobil, Shell, EPC (Engineering, Procurement & Construction) corporations and equipment fabricators. For this reason, POSCO-America TSC Houston is striving to get information about new business opportunities, by engaging closely with its key clients. As a result of all these efforts, POSCO-America TSC successfully signed a contract to supply GI (galvanized steel) products to a major US truck maker. Upon hearing that the GI materials the truck maker had been supplied were often flawed, POSCO-America TSC proposed a solution, in an effort to win trust from the company (and it worked perfectly!). The employees of POSCO-America TSC Mexico City demonstrate a high level of satisfaction with their everyday lives, due much to mild climate and friendly locals.

In addition, they take a great pride in representing POSCO’s automotive and energy steel business in the country with great growth potential. Living up to the motto, ‘POSCO the Great’, all the employees of POSCO-America TSC will enhance its efforts to provide its clients with upgraded technical services and solution-based marketing support. In addition to pursuing a certificate in automotive steel products, POSCO-America TSC will seek to strengthen partnership with key clients through more frequent contact with them. The company also plans to form a consultative group with local manufacturers, to improve the quality of its products.

In the past, the goal of marketing was simple: to produce quality products and sell them to customers. Now, it has changed: to prepare a service system responsive to customer needs and deliver in advance the values that customers may want. To keep up with such change, global steel makers began to set up their global infrastructures to deliver services that satisfy the needs of customers – in a most efficient and convenient manner at a moment of need.

POSCO has taken a strategy to differentiate itself from its competitors, both in terms of its past investments and future development plans for moving ahead.

Processing Centers

POSCO has maintained investment to control its processing centers around the world. By doing so, it was able to directly manage the whole supply processes and quickly respond to every need of customers, enabling customers to access its products in an earliest manner. This resulted in higher customer satisfaction and trust in POSCO’s products, which strengthened the company’s customer relations and helped create new business opportunities.

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POSCO-CSPC: POSCO delivers a one-stop service from raw materials to components through collaboration with auto parts suppliers

Located in Jiangsu, China, POSCO-CSPC is the first of its kind specialized in processing automotive steel sheets. In its early days, this processing company made the utmost effort to ensure the stability of its operation and product quality in order to establish itself as a highly competitive company as quickly as possible. The company also focused on developing customers, in particular the joint ventures of global automakers operating in China, such as Shanghai GM and Shanghai Volkswagen. While these global automakers were highly demanding about product quality, it took a long time to develop relationship with them. Once a deal was forged, however, the relationship could be sustained in a long-term basis. Furthermore, POSCO-CSPC delivered unique service that further improved customer satisfaction, which became a strong foundation for the company to extend its customer base. Having built a trustworthy image by keeping its promises to the customers also contributed to this. Meanwhile, as another way to create more values for customers, POSCO-CSPC is moving forward with its plan for mutual investment with auto parts suppliers in a global multi-processing facility. The mutual investment will enable POSCO-CSPC to pave the way for its mutual growth with customers and develop itself as a highly competitive global processing company, which delivers a one-stop service covering from automotive steel sheets to functional auto parts. 

POSCO-IPPC: Localization Strategies including Community Talks Bring Customer Satisfaction and Trust 

POSCO-IPPC, located in Pune, India, was established in 2005 to enhance customer satisfaction in India’s growing market by providing quality service that customers need. 

In its early days, POSCO-IPPC has focused on the stability of its operation and product quality and the stronger relationship with local customers. In India, to supply steel products to electronic makers or automakers, a company spends six months to a year and a half on multi-layered processes including vendor registration, quality certification and final agreement. POSCO-IPPC was able to stabilize its operation even in the early stage thanks to its customized service and proactive approach to customers in field marketing.

Currently, POSCO-IPPC is strengthening its presence in India in various terms, including logistics, public relations and corporate social responsibility, in addition to its own business of steel sheet processing. And, it continues to develop the competence of its employees as they are standing at the front line of marketing activities delivering satisfaction and trust to customers. Also, it regularly offers community voluntary service, including support for HIV-infected children care facilities, which has started since 2008, leading to positive feedback from local community.

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Regional Operations

POSCO runs regional operations in Japan, China, Southeast and Southwest Asia, and the US. The role of these operations goes beyond a typical sales organization. They rather serve as a regional headquarters, conducting an extensive set of activities, such as developing new opportunities for the world premium products through the Solution Marketing, responding to regional issues in trade, and identifying new investment opportunities in the region. Also, they are conducting various corporate social responsibility activities including communication with local community to support a smooth operation of processing subsidiaries within the region.

Logistics Subsidiaries

POSCO has logistics subsidiaries in India, Mexico and Slovenia to deliver services for shipment, storage and transport of products. These logistics operations contribute to stabilizing the supply of raw material used at processing subsidiaries and the delivery of final products to customers as well as improving the quality of delivery service.

Technical Service Center 

Recently, POSCO puts an emphasis on its Solution Marketing, in which marketing activities are combined with technical support. As part of its effort to enhance the technical service support for global customers and the capacity as a local provider of a complete solution, the company is expanding its global technical service centers. In China, a technical service center was open in 2011, providing support for quality and technology to customers including major automakers in China. It has also opened another technical service center in the US on July 16, this year, which will focus on delivering high quality technical support to customers in the automotive and energy sector. POSCO will continue to establish technical service centers in major markets around the world to level up its infrastructure for global technical support service.

How it will develop further ahead

POSCO plans to focus on the tune-up of its extensive global infrastructure network and the upgrade for evolution in order to enhance its strengths that differentiate the company from competitors. The company will continue to invest in processing subsidiaries in China, Southwest and Southeast Asia, and Latin America, where the automobile market grows faster, in a proactive manner as part of its customer lock-in strategies and its belief in higher values for customers. In addition, it will continue to expand its global infrastructure, which would serve as downstream operations of POSCO’s manufacturing facilities. Also, it will scale up the capacity of its processing subsidiaries as well as their service categories in order to meet the various needs of customers. And, the company tries to diversify the products of processing subsidiaries to include wire rods and thick plates rather than concentrating on those products for the automotive market to reduce the current dependence on a certain group of customers. It will also seek out the cooperation with auto parts makers in technology and investment in order to drive the continuous development of new business opportunities.

Steel products, an essential component for building cars!

The world’s first automobile, ‘Patent Motorwagen’ made its first appearance in 1886 and since then, over the past 130 years, cars have become status symbols and toys for the wealthy but also a convenient means for travelling from place to place. The essential component that builds cars is… steel!

Producing one car requires approximately 900 kilograms of steel! Are you surprised by the amount? They say that there are over 20,000 car components alone. Steel products are used throughout the automobile manufacturing process from the basic car body to engine motor, wheels to other major car components.

Wheels, doors, bumpers… steel plates that are suitable for each car component

Automobile structures can be largely classified into two sections called BIW (Body in White) used for humans and freight and Chassis, space for the engine motor, tire wheels, breaks and other components necessary for driving.

Steel products used for cars are categorized based on their strength, durability and metallic characteristics. Car steel sheets that are suitable for each car component is applied.

For example, the hood or door of automobiles need to use steel that has some malleability in order for the parts to be shaped. At the same time, they must be durable to protect from exterior shocks such as car accidents and also have high quality exterior plating. To meet all these needs, 340MPa grade Bake Hardenable steels are used.

POSCO supplies to ‘Global Top 15’ Auto Companies

POSCO is a supplier to automobile companies not only based in Korea, but all over the world including companies such as Hyundai Motors, GM Korea, Renault Samsung Motors, TOYOTA, FIAT, Ford, Peugeot and more. In order to be a supplier of automobile steel sheets to such companies, there is a rigorous quality evaluation process that must be passed. POSCO has developed leading technologies and solutions to meet the needs of customers. Through close client communication and management, POSCO has been able to gain the trust of clients. Based on these marketing activities, POSCO aims to strengthen its position as a “Global Top Auto Materials Supplier”!

[box] Supplying products that meet the needs of clients globally

POSCO receives favorable reviews from Japan!

In the case of the Japanese auto market, companies preferred auto steel materials produced in their native country. In the 1990s, POSCO decided to proactively target sales marketing activities to the Japanese auto market. Eventually through close customer contact, care and by providing useful information about auto components’ quality, POSCO gained the trust of Japanese customers. As a result, POSCO supplies Japanese auto company plants not only in Japan, but also across their global network of plants in countries such as China, Thailand and India.

POSCO surpasses the Great Wall of China!

Auto manufacturing and sales numbers rose more than 20 million annually since 2013 making China the world’s largest car market. According to research by Global Insight, compared to the forecasted average global auto market growth rate of 3.6%, the forecast for China is a steady 6.5% growth rate from 2012. Based on these growth projections and to advance into the China market, POSCO built a processing center in China. Moreover, POSCO has addressed expanded demand for galvanized steel sheets by operating a Continuous Galvanizing Line (CGL) in Guangdong. In addition, to bolster Solution Marketing efforts, POSCO put in place a technical service center to target the optimistic outlook in the China market.

POSCO stands out even in the European market!

POSCO is providing competitive materials and technology to satisfy the standards of German auto manufacturers. Being able to meet the particular standards of leading German auto companies was a great achievement for POSCO as it recognized POSCO’s products as high quality. POSCO is also supplying to companies such as Renault, Fiat, BMW and plans to continue providing to the premium market.

Expanding the market from Mexico to the U.S.!

With its foothold in Mexico, POSCO is spreading sales of its automotive steel sheets out to the US market as well. Currently POSCO Mexico is supplying Mexican car manufacturers with materials, and 70% of the cars manufactured locally are being exported to the U.S. Furthermore, by providing differentiating materials, POSCO has greatly contributed to reducing production costs for auto manufacturers in Mexico.[/box]

POSCO’s Light yet Strong Automobile Steel Sheets

After POSCO CEO Kwon Ohjoon’s inauguration, he talked about automobile steel sheets as an example of the harmony of marketing and technology during a special lecture to employees.

“It’s true that high strengthening is necessary for weight reduction of cars, however excessively applying these measures might cause problems during the car manufacturing process. This is why Solution Marketing that provides the customer with a full problem-solving package consisting not only of steel materials but also formability and welding technology is so important,” said the CEO to emphasize the importance of unique Solution Marketing that differentiates POSCO from its competitors.

The idea goes hand in hand with the current trend of the automobile market: There is a growing drive to make cars lighter in order to boost fuel efficiency, while safety regulations are becoming stricter.

Pictured here: Robot at work at the Gwangyang Steel works

In order to fulfill the newly emerging needs of car manufacturers, POSCO is spurring its drive towards development and sales of AHSS (Advanced High Strength Steel) and other world-class premium products. AHSS is lighter yet stronger compared to other automobile steel products, making it an ideal material not only for the car exterior, but also for other auto components including side sills, which are attached to the lower body beneath the doors to absorb external impact.

As international regulations governing collisions and the environment are becoming more rigorous, the popularity of AHSS is spreading across the globe from the US to Asian car manufacturers. POSCO plans to further expand the market share of AHSS by providing customized technological solutions for various car manufacturers. POSCO’s endeavors in technology development and marketing are driven towards the goal of becoming the ‘World’s Number 1’ in automobile materials.

It is exciting and reassuring to know that many of the cars we see in our everyday lives are suited in a coat of POSCO steel armor!

Lakshmi Mittal (ArcelorMittal), Ratan Tata (Tata Group), Daneil DiMicco (Nucor), Jorge Gerdau Johannpeter (Gerdau) and Gianfelice Rocca (Techint Group) were successive laureates since the award was established in 1991.

AIST is one of the top academic research organizations with highly appreciated reputation around the globe. AIST said CEO Chung was recognized as a visionary for the global steel industry for his knowledge of steel operations, dedication to safety, awareness to secure raw materials, enthusiasm to incorporate new technologies, foresight to expand POSCO’s foreign presence, and prudent strategy to promote mutual growth with steel-consuming industries.

In the ceremony joined by John Surman, CEO of U.S. Steel, and other major steelmakers, Chung accepted the honor and praised AIST’s diverse programs for the past 20 years, contributing to development and promotion of steelmaking technologies. He addressed that POSCO is putting all its efforts for developing cutting edge technologies to overcome rises in raw material prices, climate change and lack of energy resources. POSCO is also making a great deal of investments in R&D for environment-friendly and economic steel production, he added.

At the press conference after the awarding ceremony, Iron & Steel Technology, Steel Times International, Steel & Metallurgy, Industrial Info Resources, Platts, American Metal Market and other international steel and industry media packed the conference room to hear what the CEO was to share.

For the media session, CEO Chung introduced POSIT (POSCO Innovative Steelmaking Technology), a new technology for securing POSCO’s future competence, and explained about the backdrop of POSCO’s competitiveness. He also illustrated Smart Workplace System and how it was affiliated with the creative production efficiency of POSCO. The firm’s POSCO-Scholarship was also presented as well in order to show the case studies of finding and cultivating highly talented personnel.

For students and newcomers in the steelmaking industry, the CEO advised them to have a dream, a vision and an active passion in their journey towards the bright future. In doing so, Chung said, anyone can become a CEO and a winner with the spirit to overcome hardships and difficulties with optimism in mind and ownership of their own tasks.

Jonathan, the Travel Bug Meets Korea and POSCO

Hello, Jonathan. Could you briefly introduce yourself?
Hello, I’m Jonathan, and I’m originally from the US. Actually, it’s almost by chance that I ended up living in Korea. Wanting to travel and see more of Asia, I first came here as an English teacher. My plan was to stay only for one year, but then one turned into two, then three… While studying in graduate school here in Seoul, POSCO’s Global Internship Program came to my attention, and I decided to take the program for three weeks. Upon graduation, this experience turned into a job opportunity, and it has now been more than eight months since I joined the company.

You are working in the API Steel Sales Group. Can you tell us a little about what you do?
Primarily, I focus on supporting various sales activities in the API Steel Sales Group. This includes gathering market intelligence, responding to price inquiries and keeping an eye on the production status of bids we have won. Sometimes, there are surprises as well. Last week, for example, an inspector from one of our biggest Latin American end users made a surprise visit to Korea. She spoke no Korean and only minimal English, while the interpreter who joined us didn’t know very much about our specific product or the technical vocabulary related to steel. In the end, our communication was a mix of Spanish, English and Korean, with good doses of laughter and gestures to fill in the blanks. Personal contact like that makes the everyday routine of sales work worthwhile.

Do you communicate in English at the office?
I use both English and Korean. There are no major issues affecting communication between me and my group members. They speak English fairly well, and I put a little extra effort into listening since I know that English isn’t their mother tongue; same goes for when I speak in Korean.

There must be a corporate culture gap between the U.S. and Korea. When do you feel the difference the most?
First of all, I had never worked in a big company before joining POSCO, so I don’t really know if the differences I see are due to different culture or simply company size. In my previous job, if there was a problem, I could talk directly to the president. I would just knock on his door and go right in to talk to him. At POSCO, this is unconceivable – things have to travel up through the hierarchy; appointments have to be scheduled; official reports written up – it is all fairly bureaucratic. That seems to be the biggest difference that I see.

What do you want to achieve at POSCO?
I’m currently focusing on learning about industry and POSCO’s business practices. Although it is not certain for now, I hope I can be transferred to POSCO’s U.S. office. POSCO America isn’t very large yet, but building upon the experiences I have here, I would like to expand the company’s US operations.

Affairs related to Central and South America are in hands of Sergio from Colombia

Hi, Sergio. Can you briefly introduce yourself?
Hello. I’m Sergio Alejandro Rub from Colombia. I came to Korea in 2011 and joined POSCO in January this year. I took POSCO Global Internship Program for about two weeks as well. After that, I started working full-time at International Affairs Department.

How did you know about POSCO, and how did you come to apply?
I was living in China in 2009. Back then, one of my closest friend’s father was working at POSCO. Well, that makes him my senior at work now. Anyway, that was my first encounter with the company. When I was doing a postgraduate degree, I was told about POSCO Global Internship Program, so I applied for it.

What do people in Colombia think of Korean companies?
Five years ago, no one really knew about Korean companies. Some people even thought that the major Korean conglomerates were Japanese companies! But now, it has changed a lot and there is an increasing amount of interests in the companies from Korea.

You are working in the International Affairs Dept. What is your daily routine?
I mainly deal with collaboration development in Central and South American nations. My task is to find possibilities for cooperation between POSCO and other companies and governments. My team and I analyze what measures it takes to develop new products, such as which company to work with or how to maintain relationship with governments. Pioneering new market frontier is also one of the International Affairs Department’s operations.

Is there any problem communicating with your colleagues?
Unlike Jonathan, I only use Korean to communicate. And since I only use Korean with native Korean speakers, I gain an advantage in improving my Korean. For any other purposes, I speak both Spanish and English.

Are there difference between working in Colombia and Korea?
Korean companies have different positions like assistant, manager and senior manager, right? In Colombia, there are no titles like that, so everyone’s equal. Also, Koreans go for drinks during weekdays, but Colombians hardly drink before weekends because we think it affects our work. For the past two years, I think I drank at least two or three days during a week.
We have something in common though. Koreans and Colombians both have a craze for soccer. Well, actually Koreans drink beers and eat chickens while watching a soccer match, but Colombians don’t drink much alcohol unless there’s a match for a Colombian national team.

What do you want to achieve at POSCO?
It’s only been three months since I started working at POSCO. So I want to learn more about the company. It would also be fantastic to get to know about the International Affairs Department more in depth.

Working at POSCO HQ as Foreigners

There are 17 foreign nationals working at POSCO at the moment. POSCO’s recruitment process for foreign nationals is undertaken as below. Recruitments are mission-based: in other words, whenever POSCO’s operations require appropriate talents from overseas. Details, such as period of employment, can vary depending on circumstances.

During the interviews with Jonathan and Sergio, we learned a lot from the two POSCO members. Although they are working away from home, Jonathan and Sergio never lost smiles on their faces and were working really hard. Didn’t you get the same impression? ‘Hello, POSCO’ will continue speaking with the POSCO members with different nationalities, so stay tuned!

Now, POSCO has opened its very own Linkedin page (www.linkedin.com/company/posco).

Through the page, POSCO will aim to build positive relations with all our important interested parties around the world and share up-to-date corporate news and product information. Also, POSCO plans to regularly update the valuable news and information about the steel industry so that it can strengthen its global status as a world-leading steel corporation.

Linkedin, the world’s largest business-dedicated social network service is being used by more than 200 million registered users globally. The majorities of people using the service aim to find jobs, employ new talents, seek business partners and open new overseas markets. It could be a great channel for POSCO to expand its network and communicate with the world.

Linkedin as explained above, let a corporation and its future employees communicate better in an effective way, and here’s another example. Linkedin collects data. Not just any data, but those useful data for your guarantee at a new job. Below is popular buzzwords analysis from previous years in total from different countries around the world, and another diagram shows only the example of US. Having more than 135 million members around the globe, Linkedin was able to track this list from one’s professional identity. One thing you must note here is that on your personal profile, words such as “creative,” “motivated,” “responsible,” and so on, should give a fact. Emphasizing only these words and describing yourself with such descriptions are only a cliché during recruitment at a big firm. POSCO also looks for individuals who are creative, motivated and responsible indeed, but we want more than just that, give us something that makes you stand out from the typical crowd, something “unique” about you as an individual. You can find out more on what POSCO looks for on these two posts: “Pursuing New Talent for POSCO” and “POSCO Abroad, And To Be Part of It”.

Source: Linkedin Blog

Meet POSCO in Linkedin

For POSCO’s overseas corporations, rolling recruitments are generally operated online, as well as through local newspapers and individual recommendations. By POSCO’s Linkedin page, you will be able to apply for your place in POSCO with your fingertips. POSCO is looking for open and globally competent talents with professionalism and fit work ethics. If you are willing to show commitment with your creativity, POSCO welcomes you to be a part of our fascinating organization.