A powerful storm that pounded South Korea’s southern coast earlier this week forced the closure of one of the country’s largest steelworks, raising concerns about the country’s output.
According to regulatory filings Wednesday, Posco, the country’s largest steelmaker, and Hyundai Steel Co. suspended operations at their Pohang plants after Super Typhoon Hinnamnor flooded facilities there. Posco’s Pohang works is one of the company’s two main locations in South Korea, and it hosts a substantial portion of the company’s 40 million tonnes of annual crude steel capacity.
Three of Posco’s blast furnaces will resume as shortly as power is restored, though the company is still reviewing the plant’s overall resumption date, according to the filing. Hyundai Steel claims that the suspension will not have a negative impact on profits because the company can increase production at two other locations, Incheon and Dangjin.
Hyundai Steel rose as much as 5% in Seoul, the most since March, while Posco Holdings Inc. fell as much as 4.2%. The benchmark Kospi dropped 1.5%.
The typhoon that hit South Korea early Tuesday morning killed at least six people and caused flooding and power outages. Most businesses, schools, and public transportation in the country resumed operations shortly after the storm passed.
