Baek Byung-yeul is a journalist at The Korea Times focused on cultural content, including films and cultural events in South Korea. You can contact him at baekby@koreatimes.co.kr to share your insights.
POSCO hosts 2021 forum to map out new direction
POSCO Chairman Choi Jeong-woo attends the 2021 POSCO Forum at its headquarters in Seoul, Wednesday. Courtesy of POSCO
By Baek Byung-yeul
By Baek Byung-yeul
Korean steelmaker POSCO is hosting this week a two-day forum to focus on the rapidly-changing business trend powered by carbon neutrality and environmental, social and governance (ESG) management practices.
Since 2019, the steelmaker has hosted the annual POSCO Forum. POSCO said that this year's event will be held for two days, from Wednesday to Thursday of this week, under the theme of, “moving forward to become a 100-year company with eco-friendly materials.”
Considering the heightened social distancing measures due to the current wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the event features no more than 50 participants, including outside instructors, panels and POSCO executives. Other participants have joined the event online.
POSCO Chairman Choi Jeong-woo said, “The COVID-19 pandemic, which seemed to show an exit, continues to lead to new crises due to various mutations and breakthrough infections, and it constantly calls for a stance of preparing for an uncertain future.”
“I hope the POSCO Forum will be a venue for innovation to change about the ways we do business and grow, as well as how we think and work, and to increase our strategic execution as a professional maker of eco-friendly materials,” the Chairman added.
On the first day of the forum, former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun delivered a speech about the Biden administration's foreign policy and new international order. Through panel discussions on how the global economic order is changing, the forum included discussion of the impact of the Biden administration's policy changes on global politics and the economy, to examine the direction of the new international order and its implications for corporate management.
Also, the forum dealt with measures to respond to changes in the management environment, such as strengthening ESG-related investments and expanding carbon neutrality policies, the company said.
On the second day, the forum will deliver lectures on various themes, such as: carbon neutrality, the future of the steel industry, changes in the battery materials ecosystem, the hydrogen industry's potential and new growth opportunities.