Posco to start search for new chief

Posco Group will hold a board meeting next month possibly to start its search for its new chairperson, according to industry sources on Monday.

It remains to be seen whether Posco Chairman and CEO Choi Jeong-woo will seek a third term. His second term ends in March next year.

Under the group’s internal policy, the current CEO should be reviewed first if he wishes to run for another term. But sources say the group is likely to revise the rule amid growing calls for a more transparent CEO selection process.

Choi is likely to express his intention during the upcoming board meeting. Depending on that, the group’s CEO recommendation committee will start its official review process so that the final CEO candidate can be approved by the board in March next year.

Currently, Kim Hak-dong, CEO of Posco, the group's flagship steel-making unit, and Jeong Tak, CEO of Posco International, its trading and energy unit, are considered key candidates among the group’s top executives. Kwon Young-soo, former CEO of LG Energy Solution, who resigned last week, is also rumored to have been contacted.