A report by The Korea Times claims that the Korean Government is likely to intervene in the restructuring of steelmaker POSCO in recognition that steel is one of the country’s backbone industries along with car manufacturing and shipbuilding.
While POSCO has said it will speed up efforts to close down units of the business that are losing money, Choi Kyung-hwan, strategy and finance minister, has ordered the South Korean steel giant to undergo a major restructuring programme. He said that the government will intervene to ensure that it happens.
Posco’s chairman Kwon Oh-joon, said that the company had retired unprofitable business units to overcome its financial difficulties and plans to cut by half its number of affiliates by 2017. It will shed 30% of its non-core overseas businesses and additional measures will be taken if necessary he said.
The Korean government claims it will get involved when it has to and that it can intervene at any time.
Source: The Korea Times