'The Future of Lotte' Leaves Mark at Every Site... Shin Dong-bin's Eldest Son Shin Yu-yeol Expands Management Footprint

Attended Time Villas Suwon Grand Opening Ceremony on the 24th
Visited Future Food Business Sites One After Another This Year
Shin Dong-bin Accompanied, Completes 'Management Lessons' and Makes Full Appearance

Shin Yoo-yeol, the eldest son of Lotte Chairman Shin Dong-bin and Executive Director of Future Growth at Lotte Holdings, is expanding his management footprint. This year, Shin, who has officially begun the succession of management rights by appearing on the boards of both Korean and Japanese Lotte holding companies, is solidifying his position as a successor by visiting key business sites within the group.

According to industry sources on the 26th, Shin visited Time Villas Suwon, which officially opened two days ago, along with Kim Sang-hyun, Vice Chairman and CEO of Lotte Shopping, and Jung Jun-ho, CEO of Lotte Department Store. Shin inspected Time Villas Suwon for about an hour and 30 minutes together with these executives. After the site inspection, when asked by reporters whether Time Villas represents Lotte's future, Shin replied, "Yes."

Shin Yu-yeol, the eldest son of Shin Dong-bin, Chairman of Lotte, and Head of Future Growth at Lotte Holdings.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Time Villas is a core part of Lotte Department Store's mid- to long-term strategy. Launched in May with Suwon as the first store, this new shopping mall brand aims to expand the number of stores nationwide to 13 by 2030, investing 7 trillion won based on the success of Time Villas Suwon. Through this, Lotte Department Store plans to increase the shopping mall sales ratio from the current level of about 1% to up to 30%, achieving annual sales of 6.6 trillion won.

This year, Shin has been broadening his management activities by visiting sites considered future growth engines for Lotte. In January, he attended CES 2024, the world's largest consumer electronics and IT exhibition held in Las Vegas, USA. In June, he participated in the opening ceremony of 'L7 Chicago by Lotte,' Lotte Hotel & Resort's first L7 hotel in North America, held in Chicago, USA. Earlier this month, he appeared at the reopening ceremony of Lotte Duty Free's Tokyo Ginza store in Japan, which was renovated for the first time in eight years.

Lotte Duty Free held a renewal opening ceremony for its Tokyo Ginza store on the morning of the 16th (local time). The photo shows Kim Joo-nam, CEO of Lotte Duty Free (center), Shin Yoo-yeol, Head of Future Growth at Lotte Holdings (left), and Kenichi Tamatsuka, CEO of Lotte Holdings (right), cutting the ribbon.
[Photo by Lotte Duty Free]

Industry analysts interpret that Shin, a third-generation member of the Lotte family, is solidifying his position as a successor within the group. Since starting work at Lotte affiliates in 2020, Shin has been increasing his influence mainly in the area of future growth engines for Lotte. Until last year, he was seen accompanying Chairman Shin on management site visits as part of his 'management training,' but after being appointed as Head of Future Growth at Lotte Holdings and Head of Global Strategy at Lotte Biologics in the year-end personnel reshuffle, he has begun to take a more prominent role in management.

In March, Shin was appointed an inside director of Lotte Biologics, and in June, he was appointed an inside director of Lotte Holdings, the Japanese Lotte holding company, thus holding executive positions in both Korean and Japanese holding companies. Also in June, he secured 7,541 shares of Lotte Holdings, adding his name to the shareholder list. Last month, he purchased an additional 4,255 shares of Lotte Holdings, increasing his total holdings to 11,796 shares. At the time, Lotte explained that the stock purchases were made to enhance future value and promote responsible management. However, the industry widely views this as Shin accelerating the succession of management rights.