After a three year stint as the chairman-cum-managing director of Posco-India, Soung Sik Cho has left Orissa for South Korea.

"Cho, who on behalf of the company had signed mou with the Orissa government on June 22, 2005 for setting up of a steel mill near Paradip, left the state on Sunday," a company spokesman told PTI.

Claiming that Cho's departure would in no way affect the company's India project, the spokeman said that the company was yet to announce name of the new CMD of Posco-India, a subsidiary of South Korea based Posco.

"The new CMD for Posco-India will be chosen at the board meeting in Korea on February 28", Posco-India general manager Saraoj Mohapatra added.

Besides being CMD of Posco-India, Cho was also the senior executive vice-president and member of the board Posco.

Though Cho's dream of beginning construction work at the proposed plant site could not materialise during his tenure, he was instrumental in obtaining the state government's recommendation for prospecting license over the iron rich Khandadhar reserve despite opposition from different quarters.

Besides, Cho had also enabled the company to get stage-I of the forest land diversion proposal clearance.

Posco project faced difficulties during Cho's tenure as violence at the proposed site delayed implemntation of its Rs 51,000 crore (Rs 510-billion) plant.

However, the situation had undergone a drastic change a few days before Cho's departure for Korea.

The company had already undertaken socio-economic survey in the plant site area and gained substantial support from the local people with passage of time.

Cho while visiting the proposed plant site area in Jagatsinghpur district earlier in 2007, had faced ire of the local people.

This apart, Cho had also ensured safe release of some Korean employees who were held hostage by the anti-Posco activists, the official said.

"Cho's calm and cool approach helped the company to gain people's confidence though the project had been delayed," the spokesman said adding two major problems like forest land diversion proposal and iron ore linkage had been tackled due to his ceaseless effort.