POSCO executives urged to take lead

By Nam Hyun-woo

POSCO Chairman Choi Jeong-woo is asking executives and other senior employees to come forward with ideas and plans for the steelmaker to achieve sustainable growth and find new growth engines, the company said Tuesday.

According to POSCO, Choi recently sent an email to executives of the company and its affiliates, requesting them to suggest ideas to improve the group's business practices.

“Constructive ideas should always start from thorough self-scrutiny of business practices, leadership, attitude and mindset,” Choi wrote in the letter. “I ask our executives to scrutinize our current situation from the perspective of a corporate citizen and come up with detailed opinions on improvements and renovations.”

In the letter, Choi ordered executives to specify those opinions whether they were group-wise, company-wise or personal business practices and requested the executives to write the opinions by themselves.

A POSCO official said Choi's letter is based on recognition that executives are responsible for both the “bright and dark sides of POSCO” and their detailed efforts for improvement will expedite Choi's initiative to reform the group.

“The letter is interpreted as Choi's determination for executives to be humble and introspective about their capabilities, so they can be more active in coming up with viable strategies and carrying them out,” the official said.

Since his nomination as the steelmaker's head in June, Choi has been making efforts to bring changes to the group, saying renovation is necessary for its future.

Soon after he was selected, he started an online campaign inviting public opinion on the group and reflecting some of these into an innovation roadmap, which he pledged to announce 100 days after his inauguration.

On Aug. 1, just four days after he took the office, he carried out a reorganization and merged POSCO's two steel divisions into one, in what appears to be an attempt to create synergy between them.

Also after Choi's inauguration, POSCO streamlined its working process, removing unnecessary meetings, excessively formal reports and memos among employees.

“After Choi underscored a streamlined and practical working process in his inauguration speech, pragmatism is quickly spreading among employees,” the official said.