Pohang mayor takes steel tariff protest to White House

The mayor of Pohang, which represents the center of Korea’s steel industry, brought his city’s opposition to U.S. steel tariffs to the U.S. capital, holding a protest outside the White House.

According to the Pohang city government on Tuesday, its representatives, including Mayor Lee Kang-deok, protested near the presidential office while holding signs pleading, “Please stop imposing steel tariffs on your ally Republic of Korea.”

Pohang, home to steel giants like POSCO and Hyundai Steel, has seen shuttered businesses and widespread job cuts amid worries about Washington’s imposition of a 50 percent tariff on Korean steel exports.

“Pohang’s steel industry now stands on the brink of collapse,” Lee said in a social media post. “If steel falls, industries such as construction, automotives, shipbuilding and energy will fall with it. This is not a crisis just for one city ― it is a matter of survival for the entire Korean economy.”

After the Trump administration’s tariff decision, the Korean government designated Pohang as a special crisis response zone, enabling support to help stabilize and revive the regional economy. Yet the sense of crisis has quickly spread across the city, with plants now shut down or severely scaled back.

As Pohang’s economy is heavily dependent on the steel industry, officials worry the situation will aggravate its demographic crisis. As of June, the population fell below 490,000, down from 504,000 in 2020.

“The current high tariffs have created a severe crisis that shakes not just Pohang and Korea, but the entire global supply chain,” Lee said. “I sincerely hope that today’s urgent plea will not go unanswered, and that it will serve as a catalyst for both nations and the international community to find a reasonable solution.”