POSCO Chairman donates to youth job fund

By Lee Hyo-sik

Kwon Oh-joon POSCO Chairman

POSCO Chairman Kwon Oh-joon will donate 20 percent of his salary to a government-initiated fund that finances various programs for young jobseekers, the steelmaker said Tuesday.

Company executives have also pledged to set aside 10 percent of their wages for the “Youth Hope Fund,” which was set up in September under President Park Geun-hye’s initiative to help create jobs for young people. POSCO said the donations by its chairman and executives will amount to 4 billion won ($3.5 million) annually.

The envisioned state-run Youth Hope Foundation will use donations from businesses and individuals to implement a wide range of programs to support young people in finding jobs at home and abroad.

“Chairman Kwon and other executives have decided to contribute to the fund to help alleviate the worsening employment conditions for young people. They will donate part of their salaries in November,” a POSCO spokesman said.

Since July, Kwon and other senior company officials have been returning 20 percent and 10 percent of their wages, respectively, to the company as the steelmaker struggles to cope with the worsening business environment.

“Instead of returning a portion of the salary to the company, they decided to give it to the Youth Hope Fund,” the spokesman said. “POSCO will do everything it can to promote the nationwide campaign to improve job market conditions for young people.”