Shin Dong-ju's 8th Attempt to Return to Management Fails... All Proposals Rejected

Shin Dong-ju, chairman of SDJ Corporation, is leaving the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, after the first trial sentencing hearing related to charges of embezzlement, breach of trust, and tax evasion on the 22nd. On that day, the court acquitted Chairman Shin. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeon Jinyoung] Shin Dong-joo, former Vice Chairman of Japan Lotte Holdings (Chairman of SDJ Corporation), has failed in his eighth attempt to return to management.

According to Lotte Group on the 29th, all of Shin's proposals at the regular shareholders' meeting of Japan Lotte Holdings, including his own director appointment and amendments to the articles of incorporation (agenda items 4 to 6), were rejected. Three agenda items proposed by the company, including the election of one auditor and dividend decisions, were all approved.

Since 2016, all proposals submitted by Shin at eight shareholders' meetings have been rejected. Some say this is because Shin's past actions failed to gain the trust of shareholders and employees.

In the past, while serving as CEO of Lotte Service, Shin pushed forward the ‘Poolika’ business, which fundamentally used illegally collected videos, despite opposition from the board of directors. As a result, he was consecutively dismissed from his director position at Japan Lotte from December 2014 to January of the following year. It was also revealed that he had obtained employees' email information through improper means.

In April, in the first trial ruling of a damages lawsuit filed by Lotte Service against former CEO Shin, the Tokyo District Court stated, “There were significantly unreasonable points in the business execution decision process, and although it should not have been executed, it was carried out, which constitutes a breach of the duty of care,” and ruled, “As there was neglect of duty as a director, pay damages of 480.96 million yen to the company.”

In a damages lawsuit filed by Shin against four Japanese affiliates including Lotte, Lotte Property & Development, and Lotte Trading regarding his dismissal, the Tokyo District Court ruled, “The act of pushing forward the Poolika business raises questions about his suitability as a manager,” and “There was a significant lack of compliance awareness.” The court also acknowledged that Shin had improperly obtained employees' email information.

An industry insider commented on the results of this shareholders' meeting, saying, “Shin should now stop meaningless provocations and seek ways to contribute to the future of the company.”