LOCATION: Myanmar
RELATIONSHIP: POSCO International is the majority owner and operator of the Shwe Natural Gas Project.
IMPACT ON COMMUNITY AND HUMAN RIGHTS
The Shwe Gas Movement, a community-based organization, has reported land grabbing by the project developers. There have also been allegations of abuse, including sexual abuse and intimidation, committed by members of the Myanmar military providing security for the project, and reports of criminalization and repression of activists who have criticized the project.
IMPACT ON ENVIRONMENT AND BIODIVERSITY
Alleged environmental impacts of the project include include destruction of farmland and fishing areas due to industrial waste, and pollution of waterways, which has killed fish and damaged the country’s largest Mangrove forest.
IMPACT ON WORKERS
The Shwe Gas Movement has reported that project developers used forced labor for road construction, among other abuses, including unpaid work, sudden dismissals without pay, unsafe working conditions, and physical abuse.
IMPACT ON CLIMATE
Natural gas production and consumption contributes significant greenhouse gas emissions, in the form of CO2 and methane.
RESOURCES
POSCO International Corporation is included on Burma Campaign UK’s Dirty List. POSCO International’s response to this profile can be found here and here.
Information on this project was submitted by Justice for Myanmar and Burma Campaign UK and last updated on February 13th, 2025.LOCATION: Myanmar
RELATIONSHIP: POSCO International’s Shwe Natural Gas Project provides revenue to Myanmar’s military regime, and the company owns and manages the Lotte Hotel in Yangon which is built on land rented from the military, according to Burma Campaign UK.
IMPACT ON COMMUNITY AND HUMAN RIGHTS
Myanmar’s military has a well-documented history of human rights violations, including crimes against humanity. Beginning in 2016, Myanmar’s military launched a campaign of massacres and ethnic cleansing against the Rohingya people in western Myanmar, which officials from the UN and 57 countries have labeled a genocide. The UN Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar called on businesses and investors to cut ties with the military. In 2021, the military violently took control of the country, imprisoning much of the civilian leadership. In response to the ensuing protests and marches calling for democracy, the military and its allies have killed more than 4,000 civilians.
RESOURCES
POSCO International Corporation is included on Burma Campaign UK’s Dirty List. POSCO International’s response to this profile can be found here and here.
Information on this project was submitted by Justice for Myanmar and Burma Campaign UK and last updated on February 13th, 2025.