Entrepreneur and politician who founded Pohang Iron and Steel (POSCO); the 32nd prime minister
| Life | 1927 ~ 2011 |
| Era | 근현대 |
| Clan | 밀양 박씨 |
Park Tae-jun, a native of Dongnae (present-day Busan), South Gyeongsang Province, studied in Japan before entering the army and retiring at the rank of major general. In 1968 he became president of the Korea Tungsten Mining Company and then the founding president of Pohang Iron and Steel Company (POSCO), leading the firm as president and later chairman for twenty-five years.
Guided by his management philosophy of serving the nation through steelmaking, he built the Pohang and Gwangyang steelworks from a starting point with neither capital nor technology, growing POSCO into a world-class steelmaker with an annual output of 20 million tons, an achievement regarded as a symbol of Korea's heavy and chemical industrialization.
He later entered politics, serving four terms as a National Assembly member (11th, 13th, 14th, and 15th), and was active in the Democratic Liberal Party and the United Liberal Democrats. In 2000 he served as the 32nd Prime Minister of South Korea. He died in 2011 and, in recognition of his service to the state and society, was laid to rest in the National Social Merit Section of Seoul National Cemetery in Dongjak District, Seoul.
Following his death in 2011 he was laid to rest in the National Social Merit Section of Seoul National Cemetery in Dongjak District, Seoul, in recognition of his service to the state and society.