“Overcoming the K-Steel Crisis Through Prime–Subcontractor Cooperation and Social Dialogue”

Chairman Kim Ji-hyung of the Economic, Social and Labor Council Holds POSCO Prime–Subcontractor Labor-Management Field Roundtable in Pohang (Dec. 19, Fri.)

Kim Ji-hyung, Chairman of the Economic, Social and Labor Council (ESLC), visited Pohang on Friday, December 19, a city representing Korea’s steel industry, and held a roundtable meeting with labor and management representatives from POSCO and its subcontracting firms.

The meeting was convened to hear firsthand about the current conditions of the steel industry, which is facing multiple challenges including global oversupply, the transition to carbon neutrality, and structural industrial changes, and to explore measures for overcoming the crisis through mutually beneficial cooperation between prime contractors and subcontractors, as well as through social dialogue.

At the meeting, both labor and management shared the view that overcoming the crisis in the steel industry requires the establishment of cooperative labor-management relations involving both prime contractors and subcontractors, beyond the level of individual workplaces. In particular, measures for cooperation between prime and subcontracting firms to address issues such as the dualized employment structure and the outsourcing of industrial accident risks were raised as key agenda items.

Chairman Kim stated, “Korea’s K-steel industry is a core national industry and one that is directly linked to the livelihoods of countless workers employed by both prime contractors and subcontractors,” emphasizing that “especially during periods of industrial transition and crisis, what is needed is not confrontation but dialogue, and not division but cooperation.” He added that “it is important to seek industry-wide solutions through social dialogue in which both prime contractors and subcontractors participate together.”

Building on this POSCO labor-management roundtable in Pohang, the ESLC plans to continue reviewing the feasibility of promoting social dialogue in the steel industry. The Council also plans to visit regions with other industries facing structural challenges, including the petrochemical sector in Yeosu, to continue listening to voices from the field.