Shin Dong-bin Urges Not to Settle in the Past... Calls for a "Game Changer Who Changes the Rules"

First Executive Meeting of the New Year Held
Deep Regret Over Poor Performance in Distribution and Chemical Sectors... Calls for Change
Painful Words Such as 'Frog in a Well', 'Inertia in Work', 'Adequacy Principle' Highlighted

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] "I don't think I have good news to share today." This was the first remark Chairman Shin Dong-bin made to the executive team during Lotte Group's first president-level meeting of the new year, held for five hours from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. on the 15th. Using pointed words such as 'frog in a well,' 'routine work,' and 'mediocrity,' he expressed deep responsibility for the poor performance and strongly urged the executives to actively embrace new changes.

On the afternoon of the 15th, Lotte Group held the 2020 Lotte First Half President Meeting (VCM·Value Creation Meeting) at Jamsil Lotte World Tower. The meeting, which began in a solemn atmosphere, started at 2 p.m. and ended after 7 p.m. About 100 senior executives from group affiliates, including Chairman Shin, business unit (BU) heads, and presidents, attended the meeting.

Chairman Shin Dong-bin emphasized, "In this era of change, the past methods of success are no longer valid," adding, "We must discard all existing success stories, crisis management cases, and routine work, and become 'game changers' who create new market frameworks ourselves." He stressed that as paradigm shifts are occurring across all business sectors, they must not fall into the trap of being a 'frog in a well.'

He continued, "To achieve this, we must not cling to past success methods or be complacent with the current state," and pointed out, "Although our group has held the number one position in many business areas and grown, I have doubts about whether we still possess such competitiveness today." He also added that they must not indulge in mediocrity.

He also spoke about the large-scale executive reshuffle last year, which involved 40% of the total personnel. Notably, many young CEOs in their 50s were appointed, drawing attention. Chairman Shin noted, "We positioned young leaders at the forefront to quickly respond to change and prepare for the future," and urged, "Please conduct thorough analyses of profitability and future growth potential across all business sectors and proceed with resource allocation and investment based on this."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.