Samsung, Posco chase innovation

Korea’s No.1 steelmaker and its counterpart in the IT industry have agreed to increase their collaboration in developing materials to boost innovation in the world of home appliances.

Posco and Samsung Electronics announced their partnership yesterday as they signed an MOU to co-develop steel plates and other new materials for home appliances that will be manufactured by Samsung.

Posco’s head of technology Kwon Oh-joon and Samsung Electronics’ design center chief Yoon Boo-keun signed the deal yesterday at the Samsung Group headquarters in Seocho-dong, southern Seoul.

Under the terms of the deal, Posco will be in charge of technology and the supply of materials, while Samsung will lead the electronics market with differentiated materials and designs.

Posco CEO Chung Joon-yang, since taking office in 2009, has been making efforts to forge closer ties with Samsung. Chung first made a visit to Samsung’s chip-making factory in Giheung, Gyeonggi, in 2010. This marked the beginning of the partnership. Since then, the two CEOs have taken turns to visit each other’s production sites and build up favorable relations.

Posco, which has been investing consistently in the materials business, has high expectations of its budding ties with the Samsung unit as it will be able to furnish the world’s largest electronics company with materials.

Samsung said it has been looking for a supplier that can both invent and provide new materials for its future products. “Utilizing properties of materials and making differentiated designs out of them is a key competitive factor in the IT market these days,” the company said in a statement yesterday.

The two allies will form a working-level team in the coming months to monitor cooperative projects taking place under the MOU.

“Officials at Posco and Samsung will not only witness the two companies coming closer, but experience a tighter partnership by taking advantage of opportunities to hold seminars and educational training programs on the development of new materials,” said a Posco employee.

By Song Su-hyun [ssh@joongang.co.kr]