POSCO’s Human Resources and Corporate Culture Office under the Management Support Division and the Human Resources and Labor Relations Groups at both works handle overall human resources management. As the executive responsible for talent management, the Head of the Human Resources and Corporate Culture Office reviews, approves, and decides on key human resources matters. The Human Resources and Corporate Culture Office is organized into dedicated units responsible for organizational culture, human resources and training support, talent development, and recruitment. The Office collaborates closely with the Human Resources and Labor Relations Groups at Pohang Works and Gwangyang Works to effectively disseminate and implement human resources policies at both Works.

To practice human rights management at the group level, POSCO participates in the Group Human Rights Management TF led by POSCO Holdings. Through this participation, POSCO standardized its human rights due diligence methodology and the operating guidelines for grievance handling procedures. As a member of the Group ESG Working Council and the Group Human Rights Management Council, POSCO continuously reviews domestic and overseas human rights issues that may arise across the group and the status of human rights management. POSCO discusses group-level response tasks and improvement directions, including human rights due diligence plans, human rights training, and improvement plans for key controversies.

POSCO respects and upholds internationally recognized human rights standards, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the Ten Principles of the UN Global Compact, the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, and the core conventions of the International Labour Organization(ILO). We believe that every individual has the right to be treated with dignity. This includes the rights to life and physical security, freedom of thought, expression, and religion, freedom of association, work-life balance, the right to privacy, access to food and water security, freedom from torture, slavery, and forced labor, the right to fair and decent working conditions, and protection against discrimination.

Since declaring our Code of Ethics in 2003, we have worked to prevent the infringement of others' human rights and to take appropriate measures to prevent and address adverse human rights impacts arising from our business activities and relationships. Following our declaration of group-wide human rights management in February 2025, we have continued to advance our commitment by establishing group-level human rights governance, formalizing our human rights due diligence methodology, and building an integrated grievance mechanism.

All stakeholders can easily access POSCO's Human Rights Management Policy and related information on our website. We have also established the Guidelines for Implementing Human Rights Due Diligence and the Guidelines for Operating Grievance Procedures as operational standards for protecting and respecting human rights in our daily activities.

All employees are required to make an annual pledge to uphold our Code of Ethics, which incorporates a commitment to human rights. We also provide human rights training programs and run related campaigns. 

POSCO selects and manages its workforce as a material topic. We identify potential workforce-related risks and opportunities and carry out detailed response activities to address them. 

POSCO prohibits discrimination based on gender, nationality, and race, and is building a workplace where all employees are respected through the recognition and embrace of diversity and cultural differences. To diversify our workforce, we have set a target to gradually increase the proportion of female position holders and are implementing measures to support the development of female talent. We also support work-life balance by operating on-site daycare centers and, beyond the statutory reduced working-hour systems for pregnancy and childcare, offer additional arrangements such as conversion to alternative work schedules, work-from-home options, and a parenthood immersion period. In addition, we continue to expand the appointment of local employees to managerial positions at our overseas subsidiaries, providing clear pathways for career growth. 

Paying a living wage is one way to support workers' adequate standard of living, reduce inequality, and address other working condition concerns, including working hours. A living wage generally refers to income sufficient for a worker and their family to maintain a decent standard of living, based on standard working hours per week. POSCO is committed to providing all employees with an adequate standard of living.

For fair evaluation, both evaluators and those evaluated make a fair-evaluation pledge before evaluation, evaluators are regularly trained on evaluation criteria and methods, and those evaluated can raise objections to evaluation results through a separate procedure. After evaluation ends, monitoring is conducted to check whether it was carried out fairly. Performance-evaluation results are linked to the following year's compensation, which is applied differentially according to individual performance, with no differentiation by gender, age, or nationality.

Under the philosophy of being a partner that builds a better tomorrow together, the company carries on a tradition of cooperative, win-win labor relations. It guarantees the constitutional freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining, and three labor unions are active: two affiliated with the Federation of Korean Trade Unions and the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, and an enterprise-level union not affiliated with an umbrella organization. Through the bargaining-window unification procedure, the POSCO Labor Union affiliated with the FKTU exercises the right to collective bargaining, and under the Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act it concludes a wage agreement through annual wage bargaining and a collective agreement through collective bargaining every two years.

Under the Act on the Promotion of Worker Participation and Cooperation, it also operates a Labor-Management Council whose members are elected by direct employee vote. Through quarterly regular councils, it resolves employee grievances and hears suggestions, and discusses current issues such as welfare-system improvements to derive and implement improvement directions. Along with this, it operates regular councils in which plant heads and managers, the Labor Union, the Labor-Management Council, and partner-company supervisors and employees participate directly to prevent environment-related risks.

To build a sustainable organizational culture, since 2000 the company has comprehensively assessed satisfaction with the company, organization, work, and leadership once a year for all employees. From 2024, it has conducted an organizational health assessment, and it broadly listens to employee opinions(VOE, Voice of Employees), including survey questions that reflect a DE&I perspective. The results are actively used in company-wide system improvements and policy-making.

POSCO fosters an organizational culture where people at all levels treat one another with care and respect and feel comfortable speaking up. We prohibit discrimination based on gender, nationality, race, disability, and other factors, and embrace diversity to build a workplace where everyone can grow and thrive together. To assess and continuously improve our organizational culture, we conduct an Organization Health Assessment for all employees worldwide. The results are shared with each department, empowering employees to actively shape a better workplace.

Horizontal communication
Grounded in mutual trust between management and employees, we operate a variety of communication channels to foster a horizontal and creative organizational culture that delivers greater value.

POSCO seeks talented individuals who demonstrate creativity, initiative, and a collaborative mindset, while taking into account our strategic direction and recruitment needs. Applicants who pass the document screening take the POSCO Aptitude Test (PAT), an assessment covering core job competencies and personal attributes. The first interview focuses on job-specific knowledge and expertise, while the second offers a deeper look at character and organizational fit―before a final hiring decision is made.

To advance our vision of a POSCO-style AI steelworks, we recruit specialists in AI model development and maintenance and operate internal AI master’s-, doctoral-, and expert-level learning programs. To further strengthen safety capabilities across our operations, we rotate high-performing engineers into safety-related positions, recruit experienced safety professionals, and are reviewing the establishment of dedicated safety-focused educational programs.

POSCO offers a wide range of development programs designed to strengthen job-specific expertise. Through field-centered technical training, talent development initiatives, competency-building programs, and tailored learning support, we help each employee grow into a true professional in their field. We place particular emphasis on cultivating skilled specialists to ensure the transfer of core technical knowledge in response to the evolving work environment, and operate customized leadership development programs to enhance the leadership capabilities of position holders.

In addition, to keep pace with rapid technological change both inside and outside the company, we are expanding our in-house training content with a focus on practical, hands-on education to strengthen employees' AI capabilities.

① Technician Level(TL) Certification System and POSCO Master 

POSCO operates the Technician Level(TL) Certification System to develop production and technical employees to a world-class standard. Employees who meet the requirements for their current level―across five levels from Level 1 to Level 5―are eligible to sit for the certification exam. With each level gained, employees receive promotion credits and performance incentives that recognize and reward their professional progress.

Those who reach TL Level 5, the pinnacle of technical achievement, become eligible for designation as a POSCO Master―the highest honor in our production and technical workforce. Selection is rigorous, weighing not only technical excellence but also integrity, character, and peer recognition. POSCO Masters receive a special promotion, a range of financial and non-financial rewards, the ability to remain in their roles beyond the mandatory retirement age of 60, and a permanent place in the Park1538 Hall of Fame. As of 2025, a total of 29 employees have been named POSCO Masters. 
 

② Learning Platform
POSCO operates a learning platform that allows all employees to learn anytime, anywhere via PC, tablet, or smartphone. Beyond e-learning courses, the platform offers diverse learning resources including e-books, audiobooks, and immersive 3D/VR content. It also features an AI-powered recommendation service that analyzes each employee's job responsibilities and areas of interest to deliver personalized learning suggestions. 

③ Rehiring Program
In accordance with a labor-management agreement, POSCO rehires employees who reach retirement age each year, with the exception of those who opt out, have health-related limitations, or have significantly low performance records. Through this program, experienced employees pass on their skills and know-how to junior colleagues―supporting the growth of less-tenured employees and helping us maintain our technical competitiveness.
 

④ New Collar Certification System

POSCO defines employees who leverage emerging IT technologies to improve work processes and create new value as 'New Collar' talent. To foster these capabilities, we operate the New Collar Level Certification System, which classifies data analytics and utilization proficiency into four levels and offers corresponding online and offline training at each stage. Employees who pass the certification exam receive HR benefits―including preferential consideration for overseas study opportunities―providing additional motivation to continuously develop their skills and capabilities.

 

POSCO employs a structured framework to evaluate the effectiveness of its employee training programs and support continuous improvement. We track training performance through metrics such as the number of training sessions, participation rates, and investment levels, while publicly disclosing key indicators including total training hours, average training hours per employee, and training expenditures. Program effectiveness is measured through outcomes such as certification attainment and course completion rates. We also monitor the performance of the TL System for production and technical talent development and the New Collar Certification System for building capabilities in emerging IT technologies.

POSCO actively supports employees’ career development to cultivate next-generation business leaders with strategic insight and strengthen technical expertise across its operations. Based on a job-specific Career Development Plan(CDP) framework, employees establish their own career development plans. Upon joining the company, employees spend a designated period developing expertise in their assigned field before broadening their experience across other functional areas.

To encourage self-directed growth, we conduct annual career development discussions with department heads and operate an internal job-posting system. Regular job rotations within departments and functions help strengthen our employees’ technical expertise while enhancing their ability to respond effectively to unexpected situations. High-performing employees are further developed into field supervisors through advanced training in production process management. With operations in more than 20 countries, our overseas subsidiaries pursue locally led management. To support the long-term career development of local employees, we are progressively localizing managerial positions at the department head level and above.
 

POSCO operates a grievance-handling process to address human dignity-related concerns and grievances experienced by employees and stakeholders across its business operations. Reports may be submitted anonymously through channels such as the Ethics Counseling Center (Helpline) and the Unethical Conduct Reporting Center (Hotline). Upon receipt, the Corporate Audit Office provides prompt responses and, where necessary, conducts audits and takes personnel measures accordingly.

Throughout this process, POSCO guarantees anonymity, ensures procedural transparency, and maintains the independence and fairness of grievance handling. We strictly prohibit any disadvantage or secondary victimization of reporters and victims, and have institutionalized disciplinary provisions for violations of these principles. Every effort is made to ensure that concerns raised are reviewed and remedied in a timely manner. The number of human rights-related cases received and resolved through our grievance channels is also transparently disclosed in our Sustainability Report. In 2025, a total of 80 human dignity-related cases were received through our grievance channels, all of which were fully resolved. 

Step-by-step Response Process 

POSCO has established a structured response process to address violations of human dignity, including workplace bullying and sexual harassment. This process prioritizes victim protection and ensures the prompt resolution of cases requiring immediate support and the prevention of secondary harm.

POSCO conducts human rights training and human rights due diligence at its domestic and overseas worksites under the Corporate Planning and Finance Office, and reports its human rights due diligence plans and outcomes to the ESG Committee.

The Company operates a human rights due diligence process covering all employees at domestic and overseas worksites, which includes identifying and assessing actual and potential human rights impacts, responding to issues, documenting remediation actions, and engaging with stakeholders. 

Based on the results of desk-based due diligence, POSCO conducts on-site due diligence at worksites and lower-performing subsidiaries where adverse human rights impacts have been identified. These on-site assessments involve in-depth interviews and field inspections focused particularly on employees in vulnerable positions, including female employees. 

To objectively assess and improve human rights standards across our domestic and overseas worksites, POSCO has established a standardized human rights due diligence framework structured around three stages: desk-based due diligence, on-site due diligence, and the development of improvement measures. Based on due diligence conducted at our overseas subsidiaries in 2024 and at our domestic worksites in 2025, no serious human rights violations were identified across our business operations. For issues requiring attention, remedial measures have been implemented accordingly.