In the past, most corporations in Korea moved on the strong leadership and decisiveness of their founders. Samsung led by Lee Byung-chul and Hyundai led by Chung Ju-yung are prime examples. But now, as they compete for the top spot in the global market, these corporations have grown so large that it is difficult for the owner alone to take responsibility for management. The role of the so-called "keyman," who sits closest to the owner, oversees each field, and plays a pivotal role in final decision-making for the future, has become important. We introduce the keymen of the major corporations that lead Korea's economy and look at the roles and tasks assigned to them. [Editor's note]
"Please grant stable operation of blast furnace No. 2." (Jan. 14, 2013)
"Thank you for stable and safe operation." (Apr. 19, 2015)
"Thank you for protecting safety and employees' health in the heat wave." (Aug. 26, 2023)
The thanksgiving prayers posted by POSCO President Lee Hee-geun, who attends a church in Pohang, North Gyeongsang, often mention "safety." When a crane-crush accident occurred at Pohang Works in Feb. 2019, Lee said prayers for the family of the victim and for handling the aftermath. Having worked in the steel industry, which handles molten metal, for nearly 40 years, Lee is known to put safety above all else in work.
POSCO Group Chairman Chang In-hwa's decision to appoint Lee Hee-geun the year before last, when the company was roiled inside and out by "safety accidents," also stemmed from this. When POSCO announced its president appointment in Dec. 2024, Pohang Works had two fires in a single month at the No. 3 FINEX plant. It was a moment that urgently needed a person with a calling for "safety."
At the time, Chairman Chang sent a message to employees, saying, "We will thoroughly identify the cause of the accident and where responsibility lies, and meticulously reinforce the safety maintenance system. We will not tolerate even the slightest neglect in equipment management."
◇ On-site expert who tapped molten iron for 30-plus years at "Pohang Works"
Born in 1962, Lee joined POSCO (then Pohang Iron & Steel) in 1987. Most of Lee's career has been on the shop floor. Lee worked 14 years at Gwangyang Works and 24 years at Pohang Works.
At the works, Lee mainly handled the core process of "ironmaking." Steel products generally go through the stages of "ironmaking → steelmaking → rolling." Ironmaking refers to putting iron ore, the raw material, into a blast furnace and blowing in hot air to produce molten iron.
Lee moved into management in 2001 when Lee became head of the Raw Materials Technology Team in the Ironmaking Department at Pohang Works. Lee then served as head of the sinter plant (Director General) in the Ironmaking Department in 2002 and head of the No. 1 ironmaking plant in 2003. Lee went on to lead the Technology Development Team in 2009 and served as head of the Ironmaking Department at Pohang Works in 2012.
In 2018, Lee became deputy head in charge of upstream processes. Upstream refers to the stage of producing semi-finished products through ironmaking and steelmaking. In the upstream division at Pohang Works, about 1,800 employees operate the blast furnaces around the clock.
While serving as head of the Ironmaking Department in 2018, Lee solved on-site problems and received a commendation from the Minister of Oceans and Fisheries. Lee carried out a project to create a raw materials plant with no drop ore (ore falling during transport on conveyor belts, etc.), significantly reducing dust generation around the raw materials plant, and was credited for restoring the performance of unloading equipment. Lee also once served as an executive at the Korea Maritime Rescue Association.
A POSCO official said, "During Lee's time as head of the Ironmaking Department at Pohang Works, Lee even wrote hand-written letters of thanks to employees for six years," adding, "Even now, Lee often says 'thank you' to colleagues and employees and often notes that Lee has come this far based on the relationships built so far."
In Lee Hee-geun's inaugural address last March, Lee said, "To enhance the competitiveness of Pohang Works, we must accelerate technology development related to processes, products, and quality," adding, "We must innovate a work culture centered on essence, on-site, and execution."
Since Lee took the helm, POSCO's profitability has been improving. According to POSCO Holdings, POSCO's separate operating profit last year rebounded to 1.78 trillion won, up 20.8% from a year earlier. Although sales (35.011 trillion won) fell about 6.8%, profitability improved through structural cost innovation, analysts said. Facing a global steel downturn, Lee is leading productivity gains through equipment efficiency, energy savings, cost structure improvement, and digital transformation.
◇ "Master of steel" spanning field and academia… POSCO's "technical authority"
Lee graduated from Namsung High School (Iksan, North Jeolla), studied metallurgical engineering at Chonbuk National University, and earned a master's in materials and metallurgy at POSTECH, building knowledge of the steel industry. Lee obtained the master's degree in Feb. 1998 while in service. Lee's advisor was the late Professor Lee Chang-hee, who is credited with leading steel technology and industry-academia cooperation in the steel field.
Lee's thesis at POSTECH was presented at the 1997 conference of the Korea Institute of Metals and Materials (now the Korean Institute of Metals and Materials). Lee, along with the advisor and others, conducted research titled "Softening and melting behavior of sinter and pellets under blast furnace operating conditions." The study analyzed the ironmaking raw materials used at Pohang Works by softening/melting temperatures and examined quality by blending ratios.
In 2004, Lee obtained the "meister" technician license, which only "technology masters" earn, by passing the die-making technician exam. Eligibility for the exam requires at least eight years of practical experience after obtaining a technician license. As a test that verifies on-site proficiency and the capabilities of on-site managers, it can be seen as recognition of on-site expertise. In 2005, Lee also received the in-house "Technology Creativity Award" from then-President Kang Chang-oh.
POSCO's "smart blast furnace," the world's first to incorporate artificial intelligence (AI), also passed through Lee's hands. In 2017, Pohang Works pushed to develop the base technology needed to operate blast furnace No. 2 as a smart blast furnace.
As head of the Ironmaking Department at the time, Lee integrated big data technology into the blast furnace to analyze temperature, pressure, and gas components and to predict operating results. The steelmaking process, which skilled workers had manually controlled, was automated.
Blast furnace No. 2 was selected in 2019 as a "lighthouse factory" by the World Economic Forum (WEF), the first factory in Korea to earn the designation. Lighthouse factories are selected by the WEF for pioneering application of Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies and for presenting the future direction of manufacturing.
An industry official said, "After POSCO first introduced the smart blast furnace, it also shared this know-how with the steel industry," adding, "As smart blast furnaces spread, steel output increased, quality improved, and safety levels rose."
◇ "Safety expert" proven by numbers—can Lee save POSCO in crisis
With rich on-site experience and expertise, Lee received a special mission to rescue POSCO, which fell into crisis due to "fatal accidents." Analysts also said Chairman Chang retained Lee in this year's regular personnel reshuffle because of trust in Lee as a safety expert.
Lee began to be widely called POSCO's "safety authority" in 2023, when Lee was appointed head of the Safety and Environment Division. Lee was promoted from senior executive managing director to executive vice president and served as POSCO's chief safety officer (CSO).
During Lee's tenure as head of the Safety and Environment Division, POSCO's lost-time injury frequency rate (LTIFR) and total recordable injury frequency rate (TRIFR) improved to 0.35 and 1.67, respectively. In 2022, they were 0.93 and 1.73. LTIFR is an indicator of industrial accident frequency, representing the number of accidents that caused lost time per 1 million work hours. TRIFR is the number of all injured persons per 1 million work hours and is treated as a preventive safety management indicator. There were no serious accidents during that time.
Later, while serving as head of the Task Force for Equipment Fortification, Lee became POSCO's chief as "safety" emerged as a central issue within the POSCO Group. In the regular reshuffle at the time, all executives born before 1963 stepped down from front-line management.
However, it seems more time is needed to judge whether Lee can save POSCO, which has fallen into a "safety crisis." That is because safety accidents at Pohang Works continued even after Dec. 2024, when Lee became POSCO's chief.
At POSCO business sites, there were two accidents in Nov. last year in which toxic gas leaked and workers inhaled it. The head of Pohang Works was dismissed at that time, and Lee concurrently served in the post for two months. This year as well, on the 20th of last month, a contract worker suffered an accident in which a leg was caught in equipment for transporting products at Pohang Works.
An industry official said, "What has become as important as recent business performance is the field of safety," adding, "It is important to revive the struggling steel industry, but for President Lee, achieving a dramatic reduction in accidents this year may be even more important."
Another official said, "As POSCO is known as a corporation that invests more in safety than other corporations, I think that if the system is well overhauled, accidents can be greatly reduced," adding, "For Lee, as well as for POSCO, this year will be a very important year to overhaul the safety environment."