Finance expert takes helm of POSCO

POSCO's board of directors on Friday approved a finance expert with a 35-year career at the steelmaker as its ninth chief executive officer.

Choi Jeong-woo began his career at POSCO in 1983 and has been involved in finance and business strategy matters in the world's fifth-biggest steelmaker by output, the company said in a statement.

He has led the restructuring programs for the Korean steelmaker since 2015 by selling non-core assets, integrating similar businesses and shutting down loss-making businesses, a company spokesman said.

The number of POSCO's domestic affiliates fell to 38 from 71 and overseas branches to 124 from 181 under the self-help measures, the statement said.

Under the three-year restructuring efforts, POSCO shifted to a net profit of 1.048 trillion won ($934 million) in 2016 from a net loss of 96.18 billion won a year earlier.

Its net profit nearly tripled to 2.974 trillion won in 2017 compared to the previous year. (Yonhap)