Lotte Group Regular Executive Appointments, 50s CEOs Positioned Forward... Directly Tackling Crisis

Held board meetings of 35 affiliates and conducted regular executive appointments
Reorganized executive positions to promote young talents and early CEO selection
Executives in their early 50s largely advanced to CEO positions

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] On the 26th, Lotte Group conducted its regular executive appointments for 2021 across 35 affiliates in distribution, food, chemical, and hotel sectors, including Lotte Holdings. This year's executive appointments were carried out about a month earlier than usual. This was to prepare for the highly uncertain domestic and international business environment due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and to finalize and implement next year's management plans early.

Personnel Reshuffle to Accelerate Innovation, Streamlining Executive Ranks

In August, Lotte showed its commitment to change by conducting an extraordinary personnel reshuffle for the first time since its founding. This included the voluntary retirement of Vice Chairman Hwang Gak-gyu and a complete replacement of executives in the Management Innovation Office of Lotte Holdings, marking a bold move.

This executive appointment is characterized by a large-scale personnel reshuffle to accelerate innovation and a slimming down of the executive rank structure. Lotte significantly reduced the number of promotions and newly appointed executives to about 80% compared to last year, based strictly on performance.

The executive rank levels were reduced from six to five, and the promotion periods for each rank were shortened or abolished. This measure aims to actively place young and talented individuals in CEO positions early. With the abolition of the promotion period for the vice president rank, it is now possible to be promoted from vice president to president within just one year. The two previous ranks, Senior Manager A and Senior Manager B, were merged into a single 'Senior Manager' rank. Previously, it took 13 years for a new executive to be promoted to president, but this restructuring has significantly advanced the possible promotion timeline.

Young CEOs in Early 50s Fully Appointed, Focus on Discovering New Growth Engines to Overcome Crisis

Lee Young-ho, who led Lotte Group's food sector as Head of the Food BU, voluntarily retired from the frontline for the sake of his juniors. The new Head of the Food BU is Lee Young-gu, CEO of Lotte Chilsung Beverage, who was promoted to president.

Lee Young-gu joined Lotte Chilsung Beverage in 1987 and has worked at Lotte Aluminum and the Group Audit Office. Since 2009, he has served as Head of Strategy and Marketing at Lotte Chilsung Beverage. He has been CEO of Lotte Chilsung Beverage since 2017 and took on the role of CEO for both beverage and liquor divisions after their integration in 2020.

There were also some changes in the heads of departments at Lotte Holdings, which serves as the control tower for Lotte Group's innovation. Ko Soo-chan, Vice President of Lotte Construction, was promoted and appointed as Head of Communications. To strengthen compliance, lawyer Park Eun-jae, a former prosecutor, was recruited as Vice President to lead the Compliance Management Office. Over the past two years, Lotte Holdings has replaced all six department heads to drive change for overcoming the crisis.

This executive appointment saw a large number of young executives in their early 50s appointed as CEOs. This reflects Chairman Shin Dong-bin's intention to place young managers who can quickly grasp market needs and actively discover new growth engines at the forefront to overcome the crisis.

The new CEO of Lotte Chilsung Beverage is Park Yoon-gi, 50, who was promoted from Executive Director of the Management Strategy Division. Kang Sung-hyun, former Executive Director of Lotte Nestle, also 50, will take charge of the Lotte Mart Business Division. Lee Jin-sung, 51, former Head of Lotte Future Strategy Institute, was appointed CEO of Lotte Food, and Hwang Jin-gu, 52, former CEO of LC USA, was promoted and appointed CEO of Lotte Chemical Basic Materials.

Cha Woo-cheol, Executive Director and Head of the Management Improvement Team at Lotte Holdings, was appointed as the new CEO of Lotte GRS, and Noh Jun-hyung, Executive Director and Head of the DT Business Division, was appointed CEO of Lotte Information & Communication. Both are in their early 50s, highlighting the appointment of many CEOs in their early 50s.

At Lotte Future Strategy Institute, Im Byung-yeon, Vice President and CEO of Lotte Chemical Basic Materials, was appointed. Seo Jeong-gon, Executive Director and Head of Domestic Sales at Hotel Lotte, was appointed CEO of Busan Lotte Hotel. Son Tae-woon, Executive Director, was promoted internally as CEO of LC USA. Park Hyun-cheol, Executive Director and Head of Production at Lotte Chemical Basic Materials, was appointed CEO of LC Titan, and Hwang Dae-sik, Senior Manager and Head of Safety and Environment at Lotte Chemical Basic Materials, was appointed CEO of Lotte Versalis Elastomers. Kim Tae-hyun, Senior Manager and Head of Global Division at Lotte Chilsung Beverage, was appointed CEO of Lotte Nestle.

Lotte continues to expand its global executives by appointing Khayyam Rajpoot, head of Lotte Confectionery's Pakistan Kolson corporation, as a new executive.

2021 Lotte Group Regular Executive Appointment List

◆ Promotion to CEO and Unit Organization Heads

President, Head of Lotte Group Food BU: Lee Young-gu

Appointed CEO of Lotte Food Co., Ltd.: Vice President Lee Jin-sung

Vice President, Head of Department Store Division, Lotte Shopping Co., Ltd.: Hwang Beom-seok

Appointed CEO of Lotte Chemical Co., Ltd. Basic Materials: Vice President Hwang Jin-gu

Vice President, Head of Management Innovation Office, Lotte Holdings Co., Ltd.: Lee Hoon-ki

Vice President, Head of Communications Office, Lotte Holdings Co., Ltd.: Ko Soo-chan

Appointed CEO of Lotte Chilsung Beverage Co., Ltd.: Executive Director Park Yoon-gi

Appointed CEO of Busan Lotte Hotel Co., Ltd.: Executive Director Seo Jeong-gon

Executive Director, CEO of Lotte Trading Co., Ltd.: Jeong Ki-ho

Appointed CEO of LC USA: Executive Director Son Tae-woon

Appointed CEO of Lotte Versalis Elastomers Co., Ltd.: Senior Manager Hwang Dae-sik

◆ Appointment to CEO and Unit Organization Heads

Appointed CEO of Lotte Future Strategy Institute Co., Ltd.: Vice President Im Byung-yeon

Vice President, Head of Compliance Management Office, Lotte Holdings Co., Ltd.: Park Eun-jae

Appointed CEO of Lotte GRS Co., Ltd.: Executive Director Cha Woo-cheol

Executive Director, Head of Mart Business Division, Lotte Shopping Co., Ltd.: Kang Sung-hyun

Executive Director, CEO of Lotte Information & Communication Co., Ltd.: Noh Jun-hyung

Appointed CEO of LC Titan: Executive Director Park Hyun-cheol

Appointed CEO of Lotte Nestle Korea Co., Ltd.: Senior Manager Kim Tae-hyun

◆ Promotions

[Lotte Confectionery]

Executive Director: Jeong Jae-woong

Senior Managers: Bae Seong-woo, Park Kyung-seop

Senior Assistant Managers: Heo Jeong-gyu, Song Kyung-won, Khayyam Rajpoot

[Lotte Chilsung Beverage]

Senior Managers: Na Han-chae, Lee Deok-yong

Senior Assistant Managers: Jeong Yong-ju, Seo Ji-hoon, Song Hyo-jin

[Lotte Food]

Senior Manager: Ryu Ha-min

Senior Assistant Managers: Lee Seok-won, Ryu Hak-hee

[Lotte GRS]

Senior Assistant Managers: Lee Seung-joo, Lee Won-taek

[Lotte Central Research Institute]

Senior Assistant Manager: Jang Jong-tae

[Daehong Planning]

Senior Assistant Manager: Ahn Se-hoon

[Lotte Department Store]

Executive Director: Kim Dae-soo

Senior Manager: Choi Young-jun

Senior Assistant Managers: Cha Yong-kyung, Seo Yong-seok, Lee Joo-young

[Lotte Mart]

Senior Assistant Managers: Kim Young-gu, Jo Jeong-wook

[Lotte Super]

Senior Assistant Managers: Kang Ho-jin, Park Woo-jin

[Lotte Hi-Mart]

Senior Manager: Lee Chan-il

Senior Assistant Managers: Kim Si-ho, Seo Kang-woo

[Korea Seven]

Senior Manager: Lee Jung-yoon

Senior Assistant Manager: Moon Dae-woo

[Lotte Home Shopping]

Senior Manager: Shin Sung-bin

Senior Assistant Managers: Yoon Ji-hwan, Kim Deok-young

[Lotte Members]

Senior Assistant Manager: Jeong Ran-sook

[Lotte Global Logistics]

Senior Assistant Manager: Jeong Seok-gi

[Lotte Information & Communication]

Senior Manager: Ko Doo-young

Senior Assistant Managers: Jo Deok-gil, Lee Jin-ho

[Hotel Lotte]

Senior Assistant Manager: Kwon Hyuk-beom

[Lotte Duty Free]

Senior Manager: Park Sung-hoon

Senior Assistant Managers: Lee Young-jik, Han Jeong-ho

[Lotte Rental]

Senior Manager: Lee Kang-san

Senior Assistant Manager: Park Se-il

[Lotte Property & Development]

Executive Director: Jeong Ho-seok

Senior Assistant Manager: Shin Chang-hoon

[Canon Korea Business Solutions]

Senior Assistant Manager: Choi Jae-ho

[Lotte Chemical Basic Materials Business]

Senior Managers: Kim Woo-chan, Bae Kwang-seok

Senior Assistant Managers: Kim Kwang-young, Kwak Ki-seop, Park Se-ho

[Lotte Chemical Advanced Materials Business]

Executive Director: Shin Sung-jae

Senior Manager: Seong Nak-seon

Senior Assistant Manager: Kwon Ki-hye

[Lotte Fine Chemical]

Senior Manager: Joo Woo-hyun

Senior Assistant Manager: Jeong Myung-geun

[Lotte Construction]

Executive Director: Shin Chi-ho

Senior Manager: Kim Jong-su

Senior Assistant Managers: Park Ki-tae, Jang Sung-jae, Lee Sang-kwang, Kang Yoon-seok, Ryu Hyun-il

[Lotte Aluminum]

Senior Assistant Manager: Son Byung-sam

[Lotte Accelerator]

Senior Assistant Manager: Lee Jong-hoon

[Lotte Human Resources Development Institute]

Senior Assistant Manager: Byun Young-o

[Lotte Holdings]

Executive Director: Son Hee-young

Senior Managers: Kim Seung-wook, Kim Won-jae

Senior Assistant Managers: Song Ui-hong, Im Tae-hyung, Kang Seong-du