This Week's Lotte Regular Personnel Changes... Crossroads Between Crisis Management Stability and Reform

Lotte Group Conducts Regular Executive Personnel Changes This Week
Delayed by 2 Weeks Compared to Previous Years, Expected as Early as the 14th
Internal and External Factors Including Construction Liquidity Crisis
Focus on Stability → Considering Crisis Response and Management Efficiency

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Yuri Kim] Lotte Group will announce its regular executive appointments this week. With the personnel schedule delayed by about two weeks amid internal and external crises, there is growing interest in whether the focus will be on stability or reform.

According to the business community on the 11th, Lotte is expected to announce its regular executive appointments as early as the 14th. This is about two weeks later than the usual schedule, which involved announcements at the end of November and appointments effective December 1. Although earlier appointments were anticipated due to executive evaluations being about half a month earlier than usual, the schedule was postponed to mid-December due to internal and external factors such as the liquidity crisis at Lotte Construction. A business community official said, "The timing was delayed as the overall executive appointments were reexamined in light of construction issues. However, it will not extend beyond this week due to subsequent personnel moves and next year's business plan schedules."

Initially, Lotte was also expected to emphasize stability, similar to Shinsegae and Hyundai Department Store Group, which announced their appointments earlier. The fact that Lotte made significant changes last year through bold appointments involving active external recruitment supported this expectation. Last year, Lotte went beyond its traditional in-house promotion policy by recruiting Kim Sang-hyun, former P&G executive, as Vice Chairman and Head of Distribution, Jung Joon-ho from Shinsegae as Head of Lotte Shopping’s Department Store Division, and An Se-jin, an expert in new business and management strategy, as Head of the Hotel Division.

However, facing crises due to consecutive setbacks such as the liquidity crisis at Lotte Construction triggered by Legoland and the suspension of early morning broadcasts for six months at Lotte Homeshopping, there are also forecasts that the reins of reform will be pulled tighter than initially expected. It is anticipated that personnel moves will be strengthened based on the principles of rewarding merit and punishing failure, focusing on crisis response, management efficiency, and securing future growth engines.

The heads of the group and affiliates whose terms expire in March next year include Lee Dong-woo, CEO (Vice Chairman) of Lotte Holdings, Kim Kyo-hyun, Head of the Chemical Division (Vice Chairman), Lee Young-gu, Head of the Food Division, and Kim Hyun-soo, CEO of Lotte Rental. Also included are Kang Sung-hyun, Head of Lotte Shopping’s Mart Division (Executive Vice President), Nam Chang-hee, Head of the Super Division (Executive Vice President), Na Young-ho, Head of Lotte Shopping’s e-Commerce Division (Lotte ON) (Executive Vice President), Lee Gap, Head of Hotel Lotte’s Duty-Free Division (Executive Vice President), Park Yoon-gi, CEO of Lotte Chilsung Beverage (Senior Managing Director), Cha Woo-chul, CEO of Lotte GRS (Senior Managing Director), Choi Kyung-ho, CEO of Korea Seven (Senior Managing Director), and Hwang Young-geun, CEO of Lotte Hi-Mart (Senior Managing Director).

There is significant industry interest in who will succeed Park Hyun-chul, Head of Management Improvement at Lotte Holdings, who moved to become CEO of Lotte Construction, and whether Shin Yoo-yeol, Executive Director and eldest son of Chairman Shin Dong-bin, who was registered as a non-registered director at Lotte Chemical’s Japan branch, will be appointed. The recruitment of external talent in new business sectors such as bio is also a point of attention.

A Lotte official said, "Last year, the organization underwent significant changes as it transitioned to a business division (HQ) system, but this year, due to external uncertainties, stability in management is expected to be emphasized. However, internal crisis awareness has increased toward the end of the year, and with the construction CEO replacement occurring first last month, the personnel puzzle has become more complex."

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