The IFAC International Workshop on Automation in the Steel Industry: Current Practice and Future Development (ASI'97) was held in Kyongju, Korea from 16th to 18th July 1997, with the Steel Processing Automation Research Center (SPARC) serving as the official host. The objective of the workshop was to bring together engineers and scientists with expertise in applying modern control theories and techniques to industrial problems, particularly those involved in the steel industry. These proceedings present papers covering various processes in the steel industry, such as cold rolling, hot stripping, continuous casting, sintering, tube making and welding. New technologies with a strong potential for application to the steel industry, such as fuzzy control, AI techniques, neural networks, robust control, predictive control, and instrumentation and measurement are also covered.