Companies in Pohang

POSCO was a national project before it was a company: in 1968, when South Korea launched its first integrated steel mill at Pohang, the country had almost no steel industry — the government borrowed money on the strength of future steel sales, and foreign experts openly predicted failure. POSCO produced its first steel in 1973 and went on to become one of the world's most efficient steelmakers, a cornerstone of Korea's shipbuilding, auto, and construction industries. The company's specialty is premium flat steel: automotive steel sheets supplied to Hyundai, Kia, and global automakers, plus electrical steel for motors and transformers, and thick plates for shipbuilding — the segment where Korean yards dominate the world. POSCO's Gwangyang works, the largest single steel plant ever built, runs at efficiency levels competitors still measure themselves against. With about 40,000 employees and annual revenue near ₩79 trillion, POSCO has transformed itself in the last decade into a battery materials company as well: it is a leading producer of cathode and anode materials for lithium-ion batteries, betting that its metallurgical expertise transfers to the EV supply chain. The result is a steelmaker that now sells to both car factories and battery factories.