A red solution sprayed by labor and environmental civic groups on Teheran-ro in Seoul overflowed. These groups held press conferences and performances by spraying red solution in front of POSCO with the character of protest against POSCO Chairman Jeong-woo Choi’s reappointment. However, it was the citizens traveling to and from Teheranno that were frowned at by the solution sprayed by these groups.
Participation Solidarity, Climate Crisis Emergency Action, and the Korea Federation of Trade Unions Metals Union held a press conference in front of the POSCO Center in Seoul on the morning of the 12th. These groups held a press conference on the grounds that POSCO increased industrial accidents, environmental pollution, and human rights suppression under the regime of Chairman Jeong-Woo Choi.
As civic groups sprayed red paint in front of the POSCO Center, red paint flowed to Teheran-ro. (Photo = Blotter)
This was the day of the regular shareholders’ meeting to decide the succession of Chairman Jeong-woo Choi. These organizations held press conferences and performances immediately after the shareholders’ meeting. Chairman Choi was confirmed to be reappointed through the resolution of the shareholders on this day. However, outside the state president, a liberal civic group opposing the reappointment of Chairman Choi held a rally-like press conference.
In a press conference, these groups said, “Over the past few months, civic groups have opposed the succession of Chairman Choi and demanded that POSCO should change.” It became an icon of injustice,” he criticized. Subsequently, these organizations demanded that “POSCO should be rebuilt through voluntary resignation of Chairman Jeong-Woo Choi.”
These groups emphasized that “workers and citizens must create a new POSCO,” and emphasized that “POSCO should apologize to workers and citizens for decades-long apocalypse.”
Afterwards, they sprayed red paint on the POSCO Center and the floors of buildings as a symbol of the victims of global warming, industrial disasters, military coups and human rights abuses in Myanmar. The buildings of the POSCO Center are colored with red paint that symbolizes blood. The activists in white dustproof clothes left the site after a 10 minute paint spraying performance. The red paint flowed down to Teheran-ro. The ten-minute performance made Teheran-ro in front of the POSCO Center stained with red paint.
Citizens’ organizations sometimes wear dustproof or dirty work clothes to communicate their demands and express a poor working environment. However, it is explained that the red paint was sprayed all over the headquarters, and the paint reminiscent of blood flowed to the middle of the road.
A cleaning worker is brushing the red paint sprayed by a civic group (Photo = Blotter).
They criticized the increase in safety accidents, environmental pollution, and human rights suppression since taking office, targeting Chairman Choi Jeong-woo. However, there are many counterarguments that the facts and differences are considerable when looking at the contents disclosed in the business report.
First, POSCO’s main business, the steel industry, inevitably generates greenhouse gases in the process of producing iron ore by importing and smelting iron ore from abroad. This is a common problem not only by POSCO, but also all steel companies, and integrated steel mills at home and abroad are preparing to change into’hydrogen steel mills’.
According to the public announcement, the amount of GHG emissions emitted by POSCO’s separate subsidiaries appears to have increased by 2019. POSCO emitted 8.05 million tons (tCO2) of greenhouse gases in 2019, an increase of 740 tons from the previous year in 2018. Compared to 2016 and 2017, it increased by about 9 million tons. POSCO’s increase in greenhouse gas emissions is due to the acquisition of off-gas power plants in Pohang and Gwangyang from POSCO Energy. Greenhouse gases are set by corporations, so emissions have suddenly increased due to the acquisition of power plants.
The steel industry, along with the power generation industry and the petrochemical industry, has the largest amount of greenhouse gas emissions. These industries are investing in facilities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in accordance with the global’Net Zero’ policy. In 2019, POSCO announced an environmental improvement investment plan worth KRW 1 trillion in order to reduce fine dust and greenhouse gases during the steelmaking process, of which 900 billion won was invested to reduce nitrogen oxides and fugitive dust, and to power generation facilities.
Civic groups argued that industrial accidents have increased since the term of chairman Choi Jeong-woo. During the first tenure of former chairman Kwon Oh-joon (2014-2016), 19 industrial accidents and life-threatening accidents occurred at POSCO and its affiliates. During his tenure as President Choi, there were only nine cases. There were no casualties during the tenure, but rather decreased.
POSCO Group’s fatal accidents. (Data = Ministry of Employment and Labor, etc.)
It is somewhat unreasonable to associate POSCO’s subsidiary POSCO Steel’s overseas Myanmar POSCO Steel with human rights abuses. POSCO entered the Myanmar plated steel plate market in 1997. Later, in 2013, POSCO Steel Plate established Myanmar POSCO C&C. As POSCO Myanmar subsidiary was absorbed into POSCO Steel Plate Myanmar subsidiary in 2019, only one subsidiary remains.
Myanmar’s economic and industrial structure was closed due to 55 years of dictatorship. POSCO established a local subsidiary in 1997 to prepare for infrastructure development and industrialization in Myanmar. POSCO was expected to increase infrastructure demand with the launch of the democratic government in 2016, but it was less than expected. However, as the flooded with Chinese steel products and local infrastructure development was slower than expected, POSCO Steel Sheet suffered losses.
POSCO Steel Plate Myanmar subsidiary performance trend. (Source = Financial Supervisory Service)
POSCO Steel Plate Myanmar subsidiary, established in 2013, made a net profit of 900 million won in 2016, and continued to suffer losses. Then, last year, it made a profit of 1.9 billion won for the first time by absorbing the local subsidiary of POSCO. In other words, it suffered losses except for the first year of the democratic government of Myanmar. The Myanmar subsidiary is 70% owned by POSCO Steel Sheet, and 30% is owned by Myanmar Economic Holdings (MEHL), a public company. In Myanmar, a coup occurred this year and human rights are being suppressed, and POSCO Steel’s local subsidiary has not made any profits except in 2016 and 2020. Considering net profit for the two years, MEHL’s equity-method gains amounted to KRW 700 million. It is observed that there would have been virtually no profit considering the losses in the years excluding the two years.
It is explained that it is speculation that it is directly related to the POSCO Group.
These groups held a debate titled’Posco is dangerous for three years by Chairman Jeong-Woo Choi,’ with some members of the ruling party before the shareholders’ meeting, and accused the prosecution of 64 current POSCO executives for violating the Capital Markets Act. In April of last year, POSCO invested 1 trillion won to purchase treasury stock to support the lowest stock price. Prior to this, Chairman Jeong-woo Choi and Vice President Joong-sun Jeon bought the company’s stock to boost the stock price. Civic groups claimed that they used undisclosed information that had not been released to the public to purchase stocks and took advantage of private interests.
Like this, despite fierce opposition from the government’s ruling party and civic groups, the second period of’Choi Jung Friendship’ was launched. Chairman Choi said, “In response to the challenging business environment, we will reinforce a low-cost, high-efficiency, and eco-friendly production system using AI technology.” I will take a leap.”