[News Space=Reporter seungwon lee] Shin Yoo-yeol, the eldest son of Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin, is being promoted to Vice President. Vice President Shin plans to take full charge of new and global businesses. Attention is being focused on his role as a relief pitcher who will save Lotte Group from crisis.

 

Lotte Group, which is experiencing a liquidity crisis, is replacing 21 CEOs as part of a personnel reshuffle. This is the largest personnel change ever, at 36% of all CEOs. In addition, 22% of all executives will also resign. Accordingly, the total number of executives will decrease by 13% compared to the same period last year.

 

The direction of Lotte Group's executive personnel changes this time is summarized as securing fundamental competitiveness and creating performance through management system innovation and restructuring, high-intensity personnel renewal, promoting young talent internally and recruiting external experts, and strengthening management efficiency.

 

First, as Vice President Shin Yoo-yeol takes full charge of management, attention is focused on whether he will acquire Korean citizenship after resolving his military service issue this year due to his Japanese nationality. In addition, some are pointing out that his management ability has not yet been verified, and that his promotion is too rapid simply because he is a blood relative. Vice President Shin joined the group in 2020 when he joined Lotte Japan as a manager, and was promoted very quickly to Executive Director of Lotte Holdings Future Growth Office last year, just one year after becoming an executive director of Lotte Chemical Korea in 2022.

 

After being appointed as an inside director of Lotte Holdings Japan last June, there were speculations that he would play a key role between Lotte Korea and Japan. He was promoted to vice president just one year after being promoted to executive director. He has been steadily purchasing Lotte Holdings stocks since this year, increasing his stock holdings. His father, Chairman Shin Dong-bin, was promoted to vice president in 1997, 1 year and 3 months after being promoted to vice president of the group’s planning and coordination office (1995).

 

A financial industry insider said, "If Vice President Shin Yoo-yeol wants to avoid criticism about his hereditary succession, he must first prove his outstanding management ability," adding, "He will need to show some groundbreaking performance that will allow him to avoid criticism that he was promoted at lightning speed while the new businesses he was in charge of were also underperforming amid Lotte Group's overall crisis."

 

Currently, Lotte Group is experiencing poor performance in both its distribution and chemical businesses. Recently, rumors of a liquidity crisis in the Lotte Chemical Group have been circulating in the securities industry. Lotte Holdings has since announced that Lotte Chemical has secured a total of 4 trillion won in available liquidity, including 2 trillion won in deposits as of October, thereby quelling the rumors.

 

According to Lotte Group, the group's total assets as of last month were 139 trillion won, and the value of its stock holdings was 37.5 trillion won. The value of the entire group's real estate was 56 trillion won as of October. The group's available deposits that can be used immediately are 15.4 trillion won.

 

The day before, Lotte also announced that it would provide Lotte World Tower as collateral to banks for the purpose of strengthening the credit of Lotte Chemical’s corporate bonds through bank guarantees in connection with the adjustment of special terms. It was a measure to quickly put an end to the controversy over Lotte Chemical’s corporate bonds, but the market’s assessment is that it is a symbolic case reflecting the crisis of Lotte Group.

 

Lotte is expanding the roles of young internal talents with proven management capabilities and expertise to strengthen business competitiveness and accelerate the promotion of new businesses. To this end, it will appoint a large number of CEOs born in the 1970s to break down seniority-based systems and establish young leadership centered on ability and performance. Twelve people born in the 1970s will be promoted as new CEOs: Lotte Duty Free CEO Kim Dong-ha, Lotte Innovate CEO Kim Kyung-yeop, Lotte MCS CEO Park Kyung-sun, LC Titan CEO Jang Seon-pyo, Lotte Chemical Advanced Materials CEO Hwang Min-jae, Lotte Ineos Chemical CEO Sung Kyu-chul, Korea STL CEO Yoon Woo-wook, FRL Korea CEO Choi Woo-jae, Asahi CEO Choi Jun-young, Lotte Central Research Institute Director Yoon Won-joo, Lotte Ventures CEO Kim Seung-wook, and Lotte Versalis Elastomers CEO Kim Hae-chul.

 

Executives in their 60s and older are retiring, accelerating generational change. Eight Lotte affiliate CEOs in their 60s (35%) will resign, and 21 affiliate CEOs, including them, will be replaced. In addition, more than 50% of executives in their 60s and older will resign.

 

Lotte will continue its policy of recruiting external experts with global competitiveness this year. Lotte Biologics will recruit a global bio expert as its new CEO on the 11th of next month. Lotte Biologics broke ground on Plant 1 of the Bio Campus in Songdo International City, Incheon in July of last year and is steadily progressing its business with the goal of commercial production in 2027. Lotte expects the new CEO to be the right person to successfully establish Lotte Bio’s business by increasing business capabilities and expanding pharmaceutical orders based on his expertise in bio CDMO and global network.

 

Lotte Group will promote Vice President Noh Jun-hyung, head of Lotte Holdings’ Management Innovation Office, to president in order to reorganize the entire business portfolio and drive a strong innovation drive. In addition, Lotte Holdings’ Management Innovation Office and Business Support Office will be integrated to serve as the central axis for group business restructuring and innovation. The new organization plans to strengthen the group’s control tower role centered around President Noh and accelerate innovation in each affiliate.

 

In order to accelerate the transformation of the chemical business portfolio, Vice President Lee Young-joon, CEO of Lotte Chemical Advanced Materials, will be promoted to President and will assume the role of General Manager of Lotte Chemical Group. President Lee is an expert in the chemical and material fields, and is evaluated as a person who will secure fundamental competitive advantage for Lotte Chemical Group as a whole by changing the constitution of the business and organization. In particular, President Lee will concurrently serve as CEO of Lotte Chemical Basic Materials and lead the work of quickly transforming the basic chemical-centered business into a high value-added specialty-centered business structure.

 

Lotte Holdings Business Support Office Vice President Jeong Ho-seok has been appointed as the CEO of Hotel Lotte. Vice President Jeong is a management expert who has supported the establishment of Lotte Group companies’ strategies and managed management risks. He plans to accelerate the hotel’s global business expansion and manage risks through full-scale implementation of consignment operation strategies. He will also serve as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Hotel Lotte Corporation, which includes not only the hotel but also Lotte World and Lotte Duty Free, and plans to increase integrated synergy between business divisions.

 

Hotel Lotte also took drastic measures to improve its management structure, including the resignation of all the CEOs of its three business divisions (Lotte Hotel, Lotte Duty Free, and Lotte World). Lotte Duty Free promoted Kim Dong-ha, head of the corporate culture team at Lotte Holdings’ HR Innovation Office, to executive director and was appointed as the new CEO, while Lotte World appointed Kwon Oh-sang, head of the new business division, as the new CEO.

 

Lotte Holdings Vice Chairman Lee Dong-woo, Lotte Food Group CEO Lee Young-goo, Lotte Distribution Group CEO Kim Sang-hyun, and the CEOs of major food and distribution affiliates will remain in their positions. Lotte Holdings Vice Chairman Lee Dong-woo will oversee crisis management and check the direction and speed of change for the group. Lotte Food Group and Distribution Group will maintain consistency in their current business strategies, but will also strengthen their business execution capabilities to achieve visible results within this year.

 

 

◈ List of Lotte Group regular executives for 2025

 

◆ Promotion to CEO and Unit Organization Head

Lee Young-Jun, President and CEO of Lotte Chemical Co., Ltd. Basic Materials Division and General Manager of Chemical Group

Lotte Holdings Co., Ltd. Management Innovation Office Director President Noh Jun-hyung

Lotte Chemical Co., Ltd. Advanced Materials Business Division CEO (Interim) Vice President Hwang Min-jae

Lotte Fine Chemical Co., Ltd. CEO (Interim) Vice President Jeong Seung-won

Lotte Holdings Co., Ltd. Communications Director, Vice President, Lim Seong-bok

Shin Yoo-yeol, Vice President, Head of Future Growth Office, Lotte Holdings Co., Ltd. and Head of Global Strategy Office, Lotte Biologics Co., Ltd.

Hotel Lotte Duty Free Co., Ltd. CEO (Interim) Executive Director Kim Dong-ha

Lotte Innovate Co., Ltd. CEO and Executive Director Kim Kyeong-yeop

Lotte People Networks CEO Choi In-tae

Woo-Wook Yoon, Executive Director (Interim) of Korea STL Co., Ltd.

Lotte Versalis Elastomers Co., Ltd. CEO (Interim) Managing Director Kim Hae-cheol

Seong Gyu-cheol, Executive Director (Interim) of Lotte Ineos Chemical Co., Ltd.

LC Titan CEO and Managing Director Jang Seon-pyo

 

◆ Appointment of CEO and unit organization heads

Hotel Lotte Co., Ltd. CEO (Interim) Vice President Jeong Ho-seok

Hotel Lotte Co., Ltd. Lotte World CEO (Interim) Executive Director Kwon Oh-sang

Lotte Ventures Co., Ltd. CEO (Interim) Executive Director Kim Seung-wook

Lotte Central Research Institute Director and Managing Director Won-Joo Yoon

Lotte MCS Co., Ltd. CEO (Interim) Executive Director Park Gyeong-seon

Lotte GS Chemical Co., Ltd. CEO and Managing Director Jeong Jong-sik

Choi Jun-young, Executive Director (Interim) of Lotte Asahi Liquor Co., Ltd.

FRL Korea Co., Ltd. CEO (Interim) Executive Director Choi Woo-je

 

◆ Promotion

[Lotte Wellfood Co., Ltd.]

Managing Director Bae Seong-woo

Sangmu Jin Heon-tak, Choi In-tae, Choi Ho-hyeong

Sangmubo Kang Seong-taek, Kim Mi-song, Kwon Young-il, Hwang Ja-young

[Lotte Chilsung Beverage Co., Ltd.]

Sangmu Jeong Yong-ju

Sangmubo Shin Hae-mo, Woo Tae-sik, Lee Joo-han

[Lotte GRS Co., Ltd.]

Managing Director Lee Seung-joo

Executive Vice President Kim Jin-woo

[Lotte Corporation]

Managing Director Lee Se-ho

Kim Se-ryeon, Executive Vice President

[Lotte Shopping Co., Ltd. Department Store Division]

Executive Director Kim Won-jae

Sangmu Kang Woojin, Yoon Woowook, Jeong Dongpil

Executive Vice President Kim Dong-seop, Park Sang-woo, Park Jun-hong, Yoo Hyeon-kwon

[Lotte Shopping Co., Ltd. Mart Division]

Shin Soo-kyung, Managing Director

Executive Vice President Kim Dong-ho, Shim Young-seok, and Pyo Jeong-su

[Lotte Shopping Co., Ltd. e-commerce division]

Executive Vice President Kim Jang-hoon and Jeong Jin-wook

[Korea Seven Co., Ltd.]

Sangmu Moon Daewoo

Sangmubo movement

[Lotte Home Shopping]

Kim Yeon-su, Executive Vice President

[Lotte Hi-Mart Co., Ltd.]

Managing Director Kim Bo-kyung

Sangmubo Jeong Sangguk

[Korea STL Co., Ltd.]

Executive Director Kim Jin-yeop

[FRL Korea Co., Ltd.]

Managing Director Jeong Hyeon-seok

[Lotte Members Co., Ltd.]

Kang Sung-jin, Senior Managing Director

[Lotte Chemical Co., Ltd. Basic Materials Business]

Vice President Hwang Min-jae

Sangmu Kwon Jo-hyeon, Kim Hae-cheol, Yoo Seung-yong, Yoon Jong-gyu

Sangmubo Kim Young-beom, Kim Jae-ho, Kim Joo-ik, Kim Cheol-su, Park Seong-jun, Park Seong-jin, Park Jin-ui, Park Jae-seon, Bae Ji-hoon

[Lotte Chemical Co., Ltd. Advanced Materials Business]

President Lee Young-jun

Executive Director Kwon Ki-hye and Lee Han-soo

Executive Vice President Kang Tae-gon, Ko Seong-uk, Ahn Jae-seok

[Lotte Fine Chemical Co., Ltd.]

Managing Director Yoon Hee-yong

Executive Vice President Choi Byeong-wook and Hwang Seok-min

[Lotte Energy Materials Co., Ltd.]

Managing Director Jo Seong-wook

[Lotte Neos Chemical Co., Ltd.]

Vice President Jeong Seung-won

Sangmu Seonggyucheol

Managing Director Jaegyu Jeong

[LC Titan]

Sangmu Jang Seonpyo

[Lotte MCC Co., Ltd.]

Managing Director Lee Tae-hwan

[Lotte Aluminum Co., Ltd.]

Sangmu Jeong Changmyeong

Sangmu-bo Lee Sang-yeop

[Hotel Lotte Co., Ltd.]

Managing Director Kwon Jeong-geun

Yang Jae-hyeok, Managing Director

[Hotel Lotte Lotte Duty Free]

Managing Director Jae-Woo Shim

[Hotel Lotte Lotte World]

Sangmu-bo Lee Hae-yeol

[Lotte Construction Co., Ltd.]

Executive Employer

Sangmu Kang Min-jong, Cha Gil-bong, Han Jeong-ho, Hong Sang-gyun

Executive Vice President Kim Myeong-jun, Kim Jong-tae, Lee Seung-hwan, Choi Jeong-il

[Lotte Rental Co., Ltd.]

Executive Director Kim Kyung-bong

Executive Director Lee Gwang-ho and Lee Gyu-pil

Managing Director Jeong Dong-ju

[Lotte Novate Co., Ltd.]

Executive Director Kim Kyung-yeop

Managing Director Lee Won-jong

Executive Vice President Kim Kyung-jang, Lee Chang-yoon, Lee Hwan-hee, Jeon Seung-nyeong, and Chu Kyung-il

[Lotte Global Logistics Co., Ltd.]

Managing Director Kwon Soon-geun

Executive Vice President Kang Byeong-yoon, Ahn Jae-yong, and Lee Yong-gam

[Lotte Capital Co., Ltd.]

Hong Jong-seong, Senior Managing Director

[Lotte Trading Co., Ltd.]

Managing Director Shin Chang-hoon

[Lotte AMC Co., Ltd.]

Executive Vice President Kim Min-young

[Daehong Planning Co., Ltd.]

Executive Vice President Park Seung-gyu and Han Geun-jo

[Canon Korea Co., Ltd.]

Sangmu Jeon Hyeong-jun

Executive Vice President Kim Hee-jun

[Lotte Future Strategy Research Institute Co., Ltd.]

Managing Director Lee Seung-hwan

[Lotte Asset Development Co., Ltd.]

Executive Vice President Kim Jeong-won

[Lotte Biologics Co., Ltd.]

Managing Director Im Tae-hyung

[Lotte Holdings Co., Ltd.]

President Noh Jun-hyung

Vice President Shin Yu-yeol, Lim Seong-bok

Executive Director Kim Dong-ha, Park Wang-geun, Choi Young-jun

Sangmu Byun Young-oh, Shim Hyeong-seop, Jang Byeong-cheol

Executive Vice President Kim Min-seong and Park Sang-seop