The second-nearest-neighbor modified embedded-atom method (2NN MEAM) is employed to reproduce Fe–P binary system describing various physical properties of intermetallic compounds, bcc and liquid alloys, and also the segregation tendency of phosphorus on grain boundaries of bcc iron, in good agreement with experimental information. In the original paper (Ko et al., Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter, 24(22), 2012), the suitability of the present potential and the parameterization process for atomic scale investigations about the effects of various non-metallic impurity elements on metal properties is demonstrated.