Lotte Chairman Shin Dong-bin: "Let's Create a Company We Want to Work for Even 10 Years from Now with Strong Execution Power"

New Year's Message Emphasizing "Autonomous Participation and Creation of Social Value"

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Hye-seon] "Let's create a company together that people want to work at even 5 or 10 years from now through strong execution."

Shin Dong-bin, Chairman of Lotte (photo), said in his 2021 New Year's address, "The strength that allowed us to overcome various crises over the past 50 years came from the employees' relentless spirit of challenge."

On this day, Chairman Shin emphasized, "Until now, we have proudly built solid competitiveness to lead the industry in various business fields, but we need to reflect on whether our core capabilities functioned properly in unprecedented situations."

Accordingly, he presented three directives. First, he demanded "synergy creation based on strong execution." Chairman Shin said, "Based on accumulated capabilities, we must prepare countermeasures for risk factors that have been overlooked so far," and urged, "Do not be intimidated by surrounding risks, but focus on creating synergy by combining the strengths and capabilities of each company."

Next, he called for "autonomous participation." Chairman Shin stated, "To respond immediately when the economy regains vitality, a prepared attitude and proactive, voluntary mindset to lead economic recovery are necessary," adding, "Each employee must have pride and a sense of mission that they are leading the company and work hard." He also promised, "We will take the lead in creating an environment where talented individuals can perform their best play."

Lastly, he emphasized "creating social value for sustainable growth." He said, "We must cherish the trust received from customers and society and pursue harmonious growth with the environment with a long-term perspective," and added, "We need to break down boundaries and communicate with various partners, including startups, to build a collaborative ecosystem based on mutual trust."

Chairman Shin encouraged employees by quoting human rights activist Angela Davis's phrase, "Walls turned sideways are bridges," saying, "Instead of despairing at the walls in front of us, let's make this year one where we lay down the walls together and use them as stepping stones for a leap forward."

Meanwhile, Lotte Group affiliates, including Lotte Holdings, held their opening ceremony on the 4th in an untact (non-face-to-face) manner to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus infection. Chairman Shin Dong-bin's New Year's address was delivered to employees through the newly opened group portal website. Recently, Lotte revamped its internal website to strengthen the digital work environment and activate communication among employees.