South Korea’s largest steelmaker Posco on Friday announced its shortlist of five final candidates for the group’s chairman position.

The list comprises the group’s incumbent and former top officials, including Posco Daewoo CEO Kim Young-sang, former Posco Chief Operating Officer Kim Jin-il, incumbent President and COO Oh In-hwan, Vice President Chang In-hwa and Posco Chemtech CEO Choi Jung-woo, according to the company.

The list was approved at a shareholders meeting and a successive directorate meeting earlier in the day.

The finalists are in a five-way race to succeed Kwon Oh-joon, who offered to step down in April to give way to the next-generation leader. His signal triggered the kick-off of a five-member leadership succession counsel.

Since last year, rumors have been mounting within the industry that Kwon may follow in the footsteps of his predecessors who had failed to serve out their given terms. Though Kwon was in his second round, he faced growing pressure after being excluded from President Moon Jae-in’s trip to the United States and other key agendas.

By Bae Hyun-jung and news reports (tellme@heraldcorp.com)