Lotte Announces Personnel Reshuffle Plan... "Infusion of Young Blood and Complete Replacement of Holding Company Executives" (Comprehensive)

Held board meetings of 35 affiliates and conducted regular executive appointments
Major appointment of CEOs in their 50s, executive structure reorganization
Complete overhaul of control tower Lotte Holdings' key executives

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Hye-sun] Shin Dong-bin, Chairman of Lotte Group, once again undertook a large-scale personnel reshuffle through the regular executive appointments on the 26th, following the personnel changes in August. Executives in their 50s were extensively promoted to CEO positions, and all heads of departments at Lotte Holdings, the group's control tower, were replaced. The total number of executives was drastically reduced to about 80%. Additionally, Lee Young-gu, CEO of Lotte Chilsung Beverage, was appointed as the head of the Food BU to lead Lotte Group's food business.

Young CEOs in Their Early 50s Fully Appointed

On this day, Lotte Group conducted the 2021 regular executive appointments across 35 affiliates in distribution, food, chemical, and hotel sectors, including Lotte Holdings. This year's appointments were carried out about a month earlier than usual. This was to finalize and implement the next year's management plan early in preparation for the increasingly uncertain domestic and international business environment.

In this executive reshuffle, many young executives in their early 50s were appointed as CEOs. This reflects Chairman Shin Dong-bin's intention to overcome the crisis by placing young managers who can quickly grasp market demands and actively discover new growth engines at the forefront.

Park Yoon-ki, head of the Management Strategy Division, was promoted to Executive Director (age 50) and appointed as the new CEO of Lotte Chilsung Beverage. Born in 1970, Park Yoon-ki has worked at Lotte Chilsung since 1994, gaining experience in sales promotion, marketing, overseas business, and management strategy. Kang Sung-hyun, the new head of Lotte Mart Business Division (age 50), joined Lotte in 2009 after working at Korea Carrefour and BCG (Boston Consulting Group), and served as head of the distribution team at the Future Strategy Center. He was promoted to Executive Director in 2018 while serving as CEO of Lotte Lobs and later served as CEO of Lotte Nestle Korea. Cha Woo-chul, Executive Director and head of the Management Improvement Team at Lotte Holdings, appointed as the new CEO of Lotte GRS, and Noh Joon-hyung, Executive Director and head of the DT Business Division appointed as CEO of Lotte Information & Communication, are both 52 years old, representing a significant appointment of CEOs in their early 50s.

All Department Heads at Lotte Holdings Replaced

Lotte Holdings has replaced all six department heads over the past two years as part of efforts to overcome the crisis. In the irregular personnel changes in August, Vice Chairman Hwang Kak-gyu retired, and all executives in the Management Innovation Office at Lotte Holdings were replaced. This time, the heads of Communication and Compliance Management were changed. Go Soo-chan, Vice President of Lotte Construction, was promoted and appointed as head of the Communication Office. This marks his return to Holdings after three years. Go Soo-chan, who joined Lotte in 1987, worked in the Group Policy Headquarters from 2015 to 2017. The head of Compliance Management was recruited externally to strengthen compliance. The new Vice President Park Eun-jae graduated from the 24th Judicial Research and Training Institute in 1995 and has worked at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, Supreme Prosecutors' Office, and Daegu District Prosecutors' Office since 2004. Afterward, he worked at the Ministry of Justice, Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, and Supreme Prosecutors' Office, and has been a lawyer at the law firm Yulchon since 2014. A Lotte official explained, "The replacement of executives at Holdings is to refresh the atmosphere. The BU will take responsibility for existing businesses, and Holdings will focus on devising future strategies."

Reduction of 100 Executives... Accelerating Generational Change

Lotte drastically reduced the number of promoted and newly appointed executives to about 80% compared to last year, based on strict performance-oriented personnel policies. The executive rank system was also reduced from six levels to five, and the promotion period for each rank was shortened or abolished. This is a measure to actively appoint young and talented individuals as CEOs 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 one year. The two ranks of Senior Manager A and Senior Manager B were integrated into a single Senior Manager rank. Previously, it took 13 years for a new executive to be promoted to President, but with this organizational restructuring, the promotion timeline has been significantly advanced. Accordingly, it is expected that personnel stagnation will be resolved quickly.