POSCO replaces 4 board members, one outside director

SEOUL, Feb. 5 (Yonhap) -- POSCO, South Korea's leading steelmaker, said Friday that its board of directors decided to replace four members whose tenures expire this month, a move considered to be aimed at solidifying its chairman's leadership.

According to the company, POSCO E&C Chairman Yoon Seok-man, POSCO President Lee
Dong-hee, and Chung Keel-sou and Hur Nam-suk, both senior vice presidents at the
steelmaker, are to be replaced.
Jeffry Jones, one of POSCO's nine-member outside directors, will also step down
as his tenure will expire this month, the company said.
The candidates for the board room are Oh Chang-kwan and Kim Jin-il, both senior
vice presidents at the steelmaker, and Park Han-yong, president of POSCO ICT Co.
The six-member standing board's decision will be subject to the steelmaker's
shareholders meeting later this month that could implement sweeping changes among
senior managers.
POSCO said the number of its board room will be reduced to five, and that of
outside directors to eight.
After taking the helm of the world's fourth-largest steelmaker in February last
year, POSCO Chief Executive Officer Chung Joon-yang has been pushing for a series
of mergers and acquisitions to regain ground lost to Chinese rivals.
In the past year, Chung, 61, has taken over Asia Stainless Corp. in Vietnam,
Taihan ST Corp. in Korea, and is in talks to buy Thailand's Thainox Stainless
Plc.
The steelmaker is also seeking to buy Daewoo International Corp., a South Korean
trading company which also has a Myanmar gas project.
sam@yna.co.kr
(END)