Chmn. Shin Dong-bin of Lotte Business Group carried out a sweeping reshuffle, forcing all vice chairmen to resign from their positions.
Twenty CEOs, almost one-third of the CEOs of the business group’s 62 subsidiaries, were replaced.
The four vice chairmen who served as a control tower of each business simultaneously stepped down and CEOs of the mainstay distribution business subsidiaries were replaced.
Last year’s reshuffle affected the replacement of the CEOs in the chemical business division, sending a warning.
In this year’s reshuffle, the managers of the distribution business division, struggling with poor business performances, were held responsible and a kind of shock therapy was adopted to transform the operational system of the business group.
The latest reshuffle is considered to be the most sweeping since 2015 when Chmn. Shin took office.
Lotte Group held board of directors’ meetings on Nov. 26 and carried out regular personnel changes for the year 2026.
All four vice chairmen, including CEO Lee Dong-woo of Lotte Corp., CEO Lee Young-gu of the Food Group and CEO Kim Sang-hyun of the Distribution Group, stepped down.
Successor vice chairmen were not appointed.
In the latest reshuffle, half of the CEOs in their 60s or older resigned from their positions, while 20 CEOs of subsidiaries were replaced.
If last year’s reshuffle was counted, two-thirds of the group’s CEOs were replaced or fired in just two years.
The business unit and headquarters regime, Lotte Group’s management axis, was dismantled.
The multi-layer structure has been removed, and each subsidiary was told to look out for their own interests.
A business source said the four vice chairmen were retained in last year’s reshuffle designed to purse innovation amid stability, but their failure to make a performance rebound led to their replacement.
In the latest reshuffle, Chmn. Shin targeted the distribution business division that has been stuck in a downturn.
Due to last year’s recession of the petrochemical business, 10 out of 13 CEOs were replaced.
This year’s hard times fell on the sluggish distribution business.
Lotte Chemical logged 509.6 billion won in operating losses in 2025 Q3. Distribution subsidiaries chalked up severe business performances.
(from left) Senior Executive Vice President Shin Yoo-yeol, chief of the Future Growth Office at Lotte Corp., concurrently co-CEO of Lotte Biologics,; CEO Jeong Heon-seok of Lotte Shopping Department Store Business, CEO Suh Jung-ho of Lotte Wellfood,; and CEO Oh Il-geun of Lotte E&C.
Lotte Department, Mart, Super and e-Commerce all have seen their market shares decline compared to their rivals.
The combined capitalization of Lotte Group has plunged more than 20 percent in the past five years.
Senior Executive Vice President Jeong Hyeon-seok, head of the Outlet Business Division at Lotte Department Store, was promoted to CEO of the department store.
Senior Executive Vice President Suh Jung-ho, head of the Innovation Implementation Team at Lotte Wellfood, was promoted to CEO of Lotte Wellfood.
Senior Executive Vice President Oh Il-geun was promoted to CEO of Lotte E&C.
The roles of Senior Executive Vice President Shin Yoo-yeol, chief of the Future Growth Office at Lotte Corp. have been expanded.
Senior Executive Vice President Shin, the eldest son of Lotte Group Chmn. Shin, has been overseeing the group’s global businesses and new business strategies.
He now serves as co-CEO of Lotte Biologics, one of the group’s new businesses.
Lotte Holds ‘2025 Design Strategy Meeting’ to Ramp Up Brand Competitiveness
Lotte Group held the “2025 Design Strategy Meeting” at Lotte World Tower on Dec. 12.
The Design Strategy Meeting was designed to take stock of Lotte’s brands and designs and discuss the direction of the future.
The 2025 Design Strategy Meeting was the second rendition, following last year’s.
The latest meeting was attended by some 50 people, including Lotte Group Chmn. Shin Dong-bin, the CEO of Lotte Corp., subsidiary CEOs and design executives.
In the meeting, Lee Don-tae, chief of the Design Office, made a presentation under the theme “Brand Continuum.”
Lee spoke of the core values that Lotte brands have maintained, and their direction from a long-term perspective.
The venue of the meeting had exhibition booths introducing design strategies and innovative examples.
To name a few, there were “Group CI Guideline 2.0”, upgraded according to digital environment changes and characteristics of each business group; design IP value-up strategies based on intellectual properties; and heritage assets owned by Lotte, such as Lotte Wellfood’s old symbol “Haenim (Sun) Mark”.
There was also a display for Lotte’s “signature fragrance,” developed in inspiration of the group’s heritage.
A Lotte Group official said, “The Design Strategy Meeting is designed to discuss ways of raising Lotte’s brand competitiveness and customer experiences, and Lotte will continue to strengthen the group’s integrated brand experiences by combining subsidiaries’ design capabilities.”
