Korea environment ministry opens second steel decarbonization forum in Seoul

The environment ministry convened steelmakers, financiers and government officials in Seoul on Wednesday for a forum on converting Korea's highest-emitting industrial sector to low-carbon production, with Posco Holdings pressing for state support to build a market for green steel.

The Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment's National Council on Climate Crisis, co-chaired by Prime Minister Han Seong-sook and civilian chair Lee Chang-hoon, held the second Industrial Low-Carbon Transition Policy Forum at the Peace & Park Convention in the capital. About 100 people attended, including government, steel industry, academic and financial-sector representatives.

Steel is Korea's largest industrial source of greenhouse gases, accounting for about 39 percent of the sector's emissions as of 2018. The forum forms part of the Carbon Neutrality Grand Alliance, launched in December 2024 to link high-emitting industries, financiers and ministries.

The first session, on the direction and challenges of low-carbon conversion in hard-to-abate steelmaking, heard from Kang Yeon-ju, head of the steel and ceramics division at the industry ministry, and Koo Yun-mo, a Seoul National University professor, who spoke on securing competitiveness for Korean steel in the carbon-neutral era.

The second session covered investment and finance for K-GX, a Korean version of the green transition. Park Jae-hoon, head of the industrial finance division at the Financial Services Commission, described the state of transition finance; Yeom Jeong-seop, head of green transition policy at the environment ministry, set out support measures for green and transition investment; and Kim Nok-young, head of the carbon reduction certification center at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, presented industry investment plans and the obstacles to them.

Posco Holdings told the forum that demonstrating and commercializing low-carbon technologies such as hydrogen-reduced steel, and converting existing plants, would impose a heavy investment burden, and asked the government to help create a market for low-carbon steel, expand clean power and hydrogen supply, and consider longer-term investment and financing conditions. The Korea Iron & Steel Association raised tax support for transition investment, relief on electricity costs, secure supplies of high-quality steel scrap and recognition of emissions reductions from low-carbon steel products as common industry priorities.

"The low-carbon transition of industry is a task that the public and private sectors must pursue together to cut greenhouse gas emissions and secure industrial competitiveness," Lee Chang-hoon, the council's civilian chair, said. "Government policy support must be matched by climate finance that connects effectively to companies' transition investment needs and leads to real reductions."

Posco Holdings CEO Lee Ju-tae gave the congratulatory address, Kim Deok-pa, chair of the green transition committee for hard-to-abate sectors, led the first session's discussion and Huh Kyung-sun, chair of the climate finance committee, led the second. Panelists included Nam Jung-im, a director at the steel association, Posco managing director Lee Sang-min and KTC division head Jang Jae-hoon.

The council said it will refer the industry and financial-sector views raised at the forum to its specialist committee on green transition in hard-to-abate sectors and share them with the relevant ministries.