POSCO says 5 candidates have been shortlisted for its new CEO

SEOUL, June 21 (Yonhap) -- POSCO said Thursday that it has a shortlist of five candidates for the position of new chairman who will lead the world's fifth-biggest steelmaker.

The company said its board of directors is set to hold a meeting on Friday to begin in-depth interviews of the five contenders to select a final candidate. POSCO said it plans to make public the names of the five after a board meeting.

The successful candidate is subject to approval at a shareholders' meeting and a meeting of its board of directors.

In April, CEO Kwon Oh-joon offered to step down to lay the groundwork for the next 50 years of growth at POSCO.

Kwon will remain in his post until his replacement has been picked.

The incumbent's abrupt announcement came two years before his second three-year term is set to expire.

Last year, Kwon was excluded from a list of business executives who accompanied President Moon Jae-in on a trip to the United States, sparking speculation that he could follow in the footsteps of his predecessors who failed to serve out their terms.

He was also not part of the business delegation that followed Moon on trips to Indonesia and China in 2017.

POSCO has dismissed as groundless the allegations that political pressure or an internal probe by the state prosecutor's office was behind Kwon's decision to quit.

POSCO was a state-run company before being fully privatized in 2000.

entropy@yna.co.kr
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