“Posco, the worst killing company chosen by civic groups and labor circles” (by the Party’s Supreme Council on the 11th)
“Posco accidents increased 21 times after the inauguration of Chairman Jeong-woo Choi” (22nd, press release)
“(To Chairman Jeong-Woo Choi) Isn’t it correct to visit a shrine in Tokyo last October?” (22nd National Assembly Environmental Labor Committee Industrial Accident Hearing)
In addition, the Democratic Party’s highest member Rep. Roh Woong-rae (4th election) poured out last month toward POSCO Chairman Choi Jeong-woo. On the 3rd, in the main building of the National Assembly, a discussion meeting was held in the main building of the National Assembly, hosted by Roh and others. The announcement was made by the union and civic groups such as Kim Ho-gyu, Chairman of the National Metals Union and Kim Chan-mok, Chairman of POSCO. The Pohang branch of the metals union is the party who accused Choi of violating the Occupational Safety and Health Act to the Daegu District Prosecutor’s Office on the 4th.
At this meeting, Rep. Roh said, “Even if we put a firm withdrawal from bad companies and management who do not keep safety, we must end POSCO’s serial killings.” “Let’s evaluate the three years of Chairman Jeong-woo Choi.
Democratic Party lawmaker Roh Woong-rae gives a greeting at the’Chairman Jeong-woo Choi’s 3 Years, POSCO is Dangerous’ discussion held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul on the 3rd. Reporter Oh Jong-taek
Rep. Roh’s criticism of POSCO was mediated by industrial accidents, but it is characterized by focusing on the individual Chairman Choi. When Chairman Choi issued a letter of reasons for the absence of attendance ahead of the National Assembly’s Environmental Labor Committee hearing (23rd last month), Rep.Roh posted a post on his Facebook page titled “POSCO Choi Jeong-woo smells a bad smell of Jung Tae-soo”.
Other members of the leadership also occasionally joined in the offensive of Roh’s’anti-Choie Jung-woo’. On the 15th of last month, Democratic Party President Lee Nak-yeon said at the party’s Supreme Council meeting, “POSCO strongly urges the CEO (Chairman Choi) to take responsibility for industrial safety and environmental protection.” “POSCO’s largest shareholder, the National Pension Service, is a stewardship We demand that POSCO fulfill its social responsibilities by implementing the code (institutional investors’ participation in management of investment companies).”
The industry “is the first to intervene like this”
The offensive of Rep. Roh and others is getting stronger as the general shareholders’ meeting (March 12), in which the appointment of Chairman Choi is decided to be reappointed. Chairman Choi was elected in July 2018 after the inauguration of the Moon Jae-in administration. In December of last year, the POSCO BOD CEO Candidate Recommendation Committee nominated Choi as the singular candidate for the next chairman, and the reappointment is dominant.
POSCO Chairman Jeong-Woo Choi is answering a question from a lawmaker at a hearing on industrial accidents of the Environmental Labor Committee held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul on the 22nd of last month. Reporter Oh Jong-taek
When Rep. Roh openly argued against the reappointment of Chairman Choi, the politics said, “There is another candidate Roh is pushing.” An opposition member of the National Assembly’s Industry, Trade and Energy Small and Medium Venture Business Committee said, “A member of the ruling party’s leadership is invading a private global company and is struggling with it. In terms of it, there is a regime-level changeover movement,” he argued.
The industry is also embarrassed. An industry official said, “There has always been a sway of POSCO in the politics, but I’ve never seen it openly like this.”
Rep. Roh is in the position that “I am doing my job as a member of the National Assembly’s Environmental Labor Committee.” Rep. Roh said in a phone call with JoongAng Ilbo on the 4th, “In the three years of President Choi’s tenure, industrial accidents increased, and last year’s workers’ wages were frozen and the management received a huge bonus.” Insisted. Then he refuted, “Because of political reasons, the suspicion of kicking out Chairman Choi and putting in our own person is nonsense.”
Some interpret it as an emotional fight. Another industry insider said, “When Rep. Roh visited the site to investigate the crash that occurred in POSCO in December of last year, wasn’t it a fire that the management union members intercepted.” “On this day, the union that supported Rep. Roh and the management union confronted each other and even struggled, and eventually we could not enter.”
All 8 people get off midway… Repetitive POSCO CEO investigation
At around 12:30 pm on June 13, 2020, a fire and black smoke of unknown cause at the 2nd hot rolling mill at POSCO Pohang Works are covering the area around the factory.
The suffering of POSCO’s chairman who was angry with the ruling powers is long. From the first former chairman Tae-joon Park to the former chairman Kwon Oh-joon, all resigned in the middle of their term of office. It is an industry norm that former chairman Park left the position of chairman in October 1992 due to disagreement with the then-president-elect Kim Young-sam. At that time, the government conducted a tax investigation and prosecution investigation with POSCO. After that, former chairmen Gyeong-ro Hwang and Myung-sik Chung, who were appointed afterwards, served only six months and one year respectively. Former President Kim Man-je, the last president of the Kim Young-sam administration, came down immediately after the Kim Dae-jung administration was launched in 1998.
Even after privatization in 2000, it is difficult to find a POSCO chairman who avoided the wind blowing whenever the government changes. Former Chairman Yoo Sang-bu, who was elected to the Kim Dae-jung administration, was convicted and dropped off after being convicted of being involved in the’Choi Gyu-seon Gate’ after the inauguration of the Roh Moo-hyun administration. Former Chairman Lee Gu-taek, who became chairman during the Roh Moo-hyun administration, also resigned after suspicion that he had requested a tax audit a year after the inauguration of the Lee Myung-bak administration. Former chairman Jung Joon-yang, whose relationship with former president Lee Myung-bak’s family has been noticed since his inauguration, resigned in the process of being prosecuted after an 11-month prosecution investigation into the Park Geun-hye administration. After the inauguration of the Moon Jae-in administration, former chairman Kwon Oh-joon was removed from the list of economic delegations and eventually resigned voluntarily.
There are many interpretations that the root cause of POSCO being easily shaken by the draft of power lies in its equity structure. POSCO’s largest shareholder is the National Pension Plan, which holds an 11% stake. In addition, about 60% of the shareholders are minority shareholders, so in the end, it is inevitable to be sensitive to the voices of the government and the ruling party. For this reason, there is a saying in the industry that “the history of the history that it is best for the chairman to resign when political pressure comes in rather than undergoing tax investigations or prosecution investigations.”
Reporter Song Seung-hwan [email protected]
