OREANDA-NEWS. Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation ("NSSMC") filed, on April 19, 2012, a civil lawsuit against POSCO, a Korean steel company, and other parties in the Tokyo District Court to seek compensation for damages; an injunction against the manufacture, sale, etc. of grain-oriented electrical steel ("GOES") by POSCO, etc., and other claims under the Unfair Competition Prevention Act, etc., based on their illicit acquisition and use, etc. of NSSMC's trade secrets regarding GOES. NSSMC has reached a settlement with POSCO regarding three lawsuits that were pending between NSSMC and POSCO, etc., including the abovementioned lawsuit

NSSMC has endeavored to allege and prove its claims in these lawsuits, such as by submitting a large amount of evidence. However, NSSMC concluded that it could succeed in ensuring adequate conditions to achieve its intended purposes to a certain extent, and decided to agree on the settlement, taking also into account other factors including the progress and state of the lawsuits. The conditions for settlement included, among other things, (i) POSCO's payment of settlement money of 30 billion yen (30,000,000,000 yen) to NSSMC, and (ii) withdrawal of the three lawsuits between NSSMC and POSCO, POSCO Japan, and POSCO America. Today, NSSMC received the settlement money, and the three lawsuits were all withdrawn.

Since the execution of a strategic alliance agreement in 2000, NSSMC and POSCO have achieved results in many fields, including research and development, technology exchange, and procurement of raw materials, and this alliance relationship remains unchanged. The companies have renewed the strategic alliance agreement for three years up to August 1, 2018.

NSSMC will continue to proceed with the lawsuit against one of its former employees in the Tokyo District Court to realize its claims.

In order to protect NSSMC's advanced technology, which is the origin of its global competitiveness, NSSMC will continue to take all necessary and appropriate actions.