Members of a civic group from Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, hold a rally in front of the presidential office in Seoul, Aug. 8, to urge President Yoon Suk-yeol to make efforts for the relocation of POSCO Holdings headquarters. Newsis

By Park Jae-hyuk

POSCO Group has been in dispute once again with residents of Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, over its plan to relocate POSCO Holdings headquarters and its R&D center from the capital region to the southeastern port city by March next year.

Although POSCO Group plans to deal with the relocation plan at the general meeting of its holding firm's shareholders early next year, the residents claim that the group has remained lukewarm about talking with Pohang's municipal government over the past half year.

In February, the company vowed to convince its board of directors and shareholders to agree to the relocation plan. The promise was made after presidential candidates and lawmakers had urged the group to place its newly established holding company there. Since then, POSCO Group and Pohang organized a task force for the relocation.

However, they have faced difficulties in making progress in their negotiation.

They have reportedly been in conflict over the managerial level of the taskforce's co-leader from POSCO Group. The company is said to have refused to accept the city government's request to dispatch the holding firm's high-ranking executive to the task force. The city government's request for POSCO Group to make excessive investments has been mentioned as another reason for their conflict.

Amid the dispute, POSCO Group sued some members of a civic group in Pohang last month for allegedly defaming the company's reputation and disrupting its operations by holding rallies in front of POSCO Center and POSCO Group Chairman Choi Jeong-woo's house in Seoul.

In response to the lawsuit, the civic group held large-scale rallies in front of the presidential office and POSCO Center last Monday, calling for the chairman's resignation. The civic group has also continued picketing in Pohang, hanging banners throughout the city in protest.

"We ask the president to make efforts for POSCO Holdings headquarters and its R&D center to be established in Pohang," the civic group said.

Rep. Kim Jung-jae of the ruling conservative People Power Party, who represents Pohang, even urged the National Pension Service (NPS) last Thursday to support the relocation of POSCO Holdings headquarters as the company's largest shareholder with an 8.72 percent stake.