'40-Year Lotte Veteran' Vice Chairman Hwang Gak-gyu Steps Down... Successor is Lee Dong-woo, President of Hi-Mart

Lotte Group Executes First Irregular Executive Reshuffle Since Founding
Time for Change in the Group, Lotte Holdings Organizational Restructuring

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Hye-seon] Lotte Group has carried out an extraordinary executive reshuffle for the first time since its founding. Hwang Gak-gyu, Vice Chairman of Lotte Holdings and a '40-year Lotte man' (pictured), stepped down from the front lines of management. Lee Dong-woo, President of Lotte Hi-Mart, has been appointed as his successor.

On the 13th, Lotte Group held a board meeting and announced executive appointments for Lotte Holdings and some affiliates. With the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic and the expectation that difficult management conditions will continue, the group judged that innovation and change are urgent to seek survival and future growth amid this crisis. Although Lotte has traditionally conducted regular year-end executive appointments, it has now implemented an executive reshuffle and organizational restructuring of Lotte Holdings to select new talent and focus on discovering future growth engines for the group.

In this executive reshuffle, Vice Chairman Hwang Gak-gyu, who has led Lotte Group's growth, decided to retire from frontline management, believing that it is time for change within the group. Vice Chairman Hwang expressed his intention to step down, stating that to respond swiftly to the rapidly changing business environment, the group must concentrate its full capabilities with young and new leaders. He will continue to serve as Chairman of the Board of Lotte Holdings.

Lee Dong-woo, President of Lotte Hi-Mart, has been appointed as the new CEO of Lotte Holdings. Lee joined Lotte Department Store and has experience in management support, sales, and merchandising (MD), and previously served as CEO of Lotte World. Since 2015, he has led Lotte Hi-Mart as CEO, driving synergy creation between Lotte Hi-Mart and other Lotte affiliates and achieving stable growth. Based on his diverse experience, he is expected to lead Lotte’s innovation and crisis management.

Along with the appointment of the new CEO, Lotte Holdings has also undertaken an internal organizational restructuring. The Management Strategy Office of Lotte Holdings has been reorganized into the ‘Management Innovation Office,’ which will focus on discovering new businesses that will become the group’s future growth engines and strategies to create synergy among affiliates.

Lee Hoon-ki, Executive Director and CEO of Lotte Rental, has been appointed as head of the Management Innovation Office at Lotte Holdings. Lee is an expert in strategy and planning, having served as CEO of Lotte Chemical Titan and head of management planning at Lotte Rental. Since last year, he has contributed to continuous growth as CEO of Lotte Rental.

Yoon Jong-min, the current head of the Management Strategy Office, will move to become the head of Lotte Human Resources Development Institute, focusing on talent development for the group.

Kim Hyun-soo, CEO of Lotte Property & Development, has moved to become CEO of Lotte Rental, and Ryu Je-don, head of the secretariat team at Lotte Holdings, has been appointed as CEO of Lotte Property & Development.

Jeon Young-min, head of Lotte Human Resources Development Institute, will take on the role of CEO of Lotte Accelerator. At Lotte Hi-Mart, Hwang Young-geun, head of the sales division, has been appointed as the new CEO.

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