POSCO Holdings
POSCO Holdings is the South Korean publicly listed holding company overseeing POSCO Group's steel, battery-materials, infrastructure, and other businesses.
Last updated October 14, 2026
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Overview
POSCO Holdings is the holding company of POSCO Group, one of South Korea's most significant industrial groups and a major global steel producer. The company was created in 2022 when POSCO, historically the group's operating steel company, reorganized into a holding-company structure. In that transaction, the existing POSCO corporate entity became POSCO Holdings, while a newly established operating company, POSCO Co., Ltd., assumed the core steel-production business. POSCO Holdings remained listed on the Korea Exchange under the long-established 005490 identity, preserving continuity for public investors while changing the group's corporate role. The holding company coordinates group strategy, capital allocation, portfolio management, research priorities, and new-business development. Its principal industrial foundation remains steel through POSCO, whose integrated works in South Korea manufacture products such as hot-rolled and cold-rolled sheet, galvanized and other coated steel, stainless steel, electrical steel, plate, wire rod, and related materials. POSCO's products serve automotive, shipbuilding, construction, energy, appliances, machinery, and other industrial customers. The wider group also has international production, processing, trading, and service operations. Following the 2022 reorganization, POSCO Holdings placed greater emphasis on expanding businesses beyond conventional steel. Strategic growth areas include secondary-battery materials, particularly lithium and cathode-related materials; hydrogen and low-carbon steelmaking; advanced materials; renewable and clean-energy businesses; and infrastructure and other group activities. POSCO Future M is associated with cathode and anode materials, while POSCO International operates in trading, energy, and resource-related businesses. POSCO E&C contributes construction and engineering capabilities, and other affiliates operate in information technology, logistics, energy, and specialized industrial fields. The group's battery-materials strategy is linked to the expected growth of electric vehicles and energy-storage systems. POSCO Holdings has sought to build a vertically connected value chain extending from mineral resources and processing to precursor, cathode, and other battery-material businesses. Lithium projects and processing investments in countries including Argentina, Australia, Canada, and South Korea have been part of this strategy, although specific projects and ownership structures vary by subsidiary and over time. POSCO Holdings also presents decarbonization as a central strategic priority. The group is developing hydrogen-reduction and other low-carbon steelmaking technologies, including the HyREX concept, while working toward reduced emissions across steel operations. These efforts respond to regulatory pressure, customer demand for lower-carbon materials, and the high emissions intensity of conventional blast-furnace steelmaking. As a corporate brand, POSCO Holdings is less a consumer-facing product label than the strategic and investment center of POSCO Group. Its public identity is closely connected to POSCO's long-standing reputation for large-scale integrated steelmaking, technological development, export capability, and national industrial importance. At the same time, the post-2022 structure signals an ambition to become a broader materials and future-industry group rather than relying solely on traditional steel. The company remains active and publicly traded, with steel still the core economic base and battery materials, hydrogen, and other advanced businesses forming the main areas of strategic expansion.
History
POSCO Holdings is the successor corporate entity to POSCO, the steel company established during South Korea's industrialization. POSCO began construction of its first integrated steelworks at Pohang in the late 1960s and produced its first molten iron in the early 1970s. A second major works at Gwangyang was developed later, giving the company large-scale integrated production capacity and a broad export base. Over subsequent decades, POSCO expanded from a domestic steel producer into an international industrial group with overseas mills, processing centers, trading operations, engineering activities, energy interests, and materials businesses. The steel business became known for high-volume production of flat products, automotive grades, electrical steel, stainless steel, plate, wire rod, and other products. POSCO developed long-term relationships with demanding industrial customers, especially automotive manufacturers, shipbuilders, construction companies, appliance makers, and energy-equipment producers. It also established overseas subsidiaries and joint ventures to serve customers close to their manufacturing sites and to participate in international raw-material and steel-processing networks. The group gradually diversified beyond primary steel. POSCO International developed trading, energy, and resource activities; POSCO E&C became a major engineering and construction affiliate; and other companies entered information technology, logistics, energy, and specialized materials. POSCO Chemical, later renamed POSCO Future M, became increasingly important as the group moved into anode and cathode materials for rechargeable batteries. A major structural change occurred in 2022. POSCO adopted a holding-company model, with the listed corporate entity renamed POSCO Holdings and a newly formed POSCO Co., Ltd. taking over the operating steel business. The purpose was to separate management of the mature steel operation from portfolio management and new-business investment. POSCO Holdings was positioned to guide the group as a whole, while individual subsidiaries were given responsibility for steel, battery materials, construction, trading, energy, and other activities. The reorganization coincided with a strategic effort to reduce dependence on conventional steel and capture growth in electric vehicles, energy storage, clean energy, and decarbonization. The group pursued investments in lithium resources and processing, cathode and anode materials, and associated supply-chain capabilities. It also promoted hydrogen and low-carbon steelmaking as a response to climate policy and customer requirements. POSCO's HyREX program is one of the group's routes toward hydrogen-reduction steelmaking, complementing other efforts to lower emissions from ironmaking and steel production. Leadership changed in 2024 when Chang In-hwa became chief executive of POSCO Holdings, succeeding Choi Jeong-woo. The company continued to describe steel as its foundation while emphasizing battery materials, hydrogen, advanced materials, and portfolio discipline. Its current identity therefore combines the heritage of a Korean national industrial champion with the governance role of a diversified, publicly listed materials holding company. The steel operations remain the group's central industrial platform, but POSCO Holdings' long-term positioning is broader: it seeks to manage a portfolio spanning steel, battery materials, resources, energy, infrastructure, and technologies supporting industrial decarbonization.
- 2024
Chang In-hwa becomes chief executive
[1]Chang In-hwa assumed leadership of POSCO Holdings during the group's strategic transition.
- 2022
Holding-company conversion
[1]POSCO became POSCO Holdings, while a new POSCO Co., Ltd. took over the core steel operating business.
- 1983
Gwangyang steelworks begins operations
[2]The Gwangyang works expanded POSCO's integrated production base and international scale.
- 1973
First molten iron at Pohang
[2]POSCO produced its first molten iron at the Pohang works, marking the start of integrated steel production.
- 1968
POSCO predecessor established
[2]The organization that became POSCO was established as South Korea began building an integrated domestic steel industry.
Products and positioning
A publicly listed industrial holding company repositioning POSCO Group around steel leadership, low-carbon materials, battery materials, hydrogen, and other future-growth businesses.
Steel
POSCO steel products
Through POSCO Co., Ltd., the group produces flat-rolled, plate, wire-rod, stainless, coated, electrical, and other steel products. Applications span automobiles, ships, buildings, appliances, machinery, energy infrastructure, and industrial equipment. The portfolio includes specialized grades designed for formability, strength, corrosion resistance, electrical efficiency, and demanding fabrication requirements. Steel is the foundational product area associated with the POSCO brand and remains a central part of POSCO Holdings' industrial identity. Steel is the foundational product area associated with the POSCO brand and remains a central part of POSCO Holdings’ industrial identity. The available reference identifies steel as a core business area but does not provide a product-level catalogue, grades, end-use segmentation, production volumes, or detailed specifications.
Automotive steel
GIGA STEEL
GIGA STEEL is POSCO's high-strength automotive-steel positioning, covering advanced high-strength and ultra-high-strength grades intended to help automakers reduce vehicle weight while maintaining crash performance and structural integrity. The offering is used in vehicle bodies and structural components and is part of POSCO's efforts to support lighter, safer, and more efficient vehicles.
Secondary-battery materials
Lithium-battery materials
POSCO Group's battery-materials businesses include lithium-related materials and cathode and anode materials, principally associated with POSCO Future M and other group affiliates. The strategy is to build a connected supply chain serving electric vehicles and energy-storage systems, with activities spanning resource development, chemical processing, precursor and active-material production, and international manufacturing partnerships. Lithium-battery materials are presented as a flagship growth area alongside steel, representing the group's participation in materials linked to battery and energy-transition markets. Lithium-battery materials are presented as a flagship growth area alongside steel. They represent the group’s participation in materials linked to battery and energy-transition markets. The supplied source does not identify specific chemical products, facilities, capacities, customer contracts, or launch dates.
Low-carbon steelmaking technology
HyREX
HyREX is POSCO's hydrogen-reduction ironmaking technology pathway. It is intended to reduce reliance on conventional coal-based blast-furnace processes by using hydrogen in iron reduction, supporting the group's longer-term effort to lower emissions from primary steel production. Commercial deployment and technical development remain subject to testing, infrastructure, economics, and the availability of low-carbon hydrogen.
Advanced materials
New materials
New materials form part of POSCO Holdings' stated direction beyond traditional iron and steel. The category covers the company's broader materials-oriented positioning, but the available evidence does not support a complete list of material types, brands, applications, or operating subsidiaries.
Brand decisions
2024
Leadership transition to Chang In-hwaOtherBackground
The group entered a new phase after its holding-company conversion and during heightened scrutiny of steel competitiveness and new-business investment.
Action taken
Chang In-hwa was appointed chief executive of POSCO Holdings, succeeding Choi Jeong-woo.
Aftermath
The leadership transition kept focus on strengthening the steel base, improving portfolio discipline, and developing battery-materials and low-carbon businesses.
2023
Prioritize battery materials and hydrogenStrategyBackground
Electric-vehicle growth and pressure to decarbonize steel encouraged POSCO Holdings to allocate more attention and capital to battery materials, lithium, hydrogen, and low-carbon production technologies.
Action taken
The group continued investments and development programs covering lithium and cathode and anode materials, while advancing hydrogen-reduction steelmaking and related low-carbon technologies.
Aftermath
The group increasingly presented itself as a broader materials and future-industry company while retaining steel as its core operating business.
2022
Adopt a holding-company structureStrategyBackground
POSCO sought to distinguish management of its established steel operation from group-wide portfolio management and investment in new businesses.
Action taken
The listed POSCO entity was converted into POSCO Holdings, and a newly incorporated POSCO Co., Ltd. became the operating steel company.
Aftermath
POSCO Holdings became the strategic parent of POSCO Group, with steel, battery materials, construction, trading, energy, and other activities managed through operating affiliates.
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