MBK Partners Is the Majority Shareholder of Lotte Card
Lotte Group stated on September 21 regarding the recent Lotte Card hacking incident, "Although Lotte Card is not an affiliate of Lotte Group, the damage to our brand value due to customer confusion has reached a serious level."
In a press release issued on the same day, Lotte Group said, "As a result of this hacking incident, Lotte is suffering both tangible and intangible damages that are difficult to recover from. If customer attrition at Lotte Card increases, it will inevitably lead to a decrease in sales at Lotte business locations that have partnerships with Lotte Card. Above all, the decline in trust among customers who mistakenly believe Lotte Card is a Lotte affiliate is especially painful." The main shareholder of Lotte Card is MBK Partners. After Lotte transitioned to a holding company structure in 2017, it became impossible to retain shares in financial and insurance affiliates under relevant laws, leading to the sale of Lotte Card to MBK Partners in 2019.
Lotte Group also reported that, since Lotte Card handles the issuance of exclusive cards for Lotte Group employees, the personal information of some employees was leaked due to this incident.
Lotte Group strongly protested to Lotte Card over the significant damage caused, including the loss of brand value and decline in customer trust. Lotte Group added that on September 18, Lotte Card sent an official letter containing an apology from its CEO.
In an official letter titled "CEO's Apology Regarding the Lotte Card Cybersecurity Incident," Lotte Card CEO Cho Jwajin apologized to Lotte Group, its employees, and customers, and promised, "As CEO, I will personally oversee the situation until the confusion caused by the incident is fully resolved."
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