Samsung Fine Chemicals, which Lotte Group acquired from Samsung Group, has changed its name to Lotte Fine Chemical Co. The name change comes in some 22 years after Samsung Group took over a state-run fertilizer and changed its name to Samsung Fine Chemicals.
Samsung Fine Chemicals held a regular general meeting of shareholders on Feb. 29 and approved the name change and other agenda items. Lotte Fine Chemical unveiled its new corporate identity.
Oh Sung-yup, former head of Lotte Chemical Support Division, and Chung Kyung-moon, ex-chief of Lotte Chemical Planning Division, were appointed to be inside directors of Lotte Fine Chemical during the shareholders’ meeting. Park Suk-hwan, former Korean ambassador to the United Kingdom, was appointed to be an outside director. The term of the directors is reduced from three years to two years. Lotte Fine Chemical said the measure is designed to swiftly cope with management environment changes.
Executive VP Oh Sung-yup was elected to be president and CEO of Lotte Fine Chemical at a board of directors meeting, which was convened after the end of the shareholders’ meeting. A graduate of Chung-Ang University Management Administration Department, Lotte Fine Chemical President Oh held such positions as the Strategy Management Team of Honam Petrochemical, predecessor of Lotte Chemical, the head of Lotte Chemical Planning Division and the chief of Lotte Chemical Monomer Business Division.
Lotte BP Chemicals, the new name of Samsung BP Chemicals, appointed Executive Vice President Kim Young-joon as its new president and CEO. Lotte BP Chemicals President Kim once served as president of Lotte Shopping Economy and Business Research Institute and president of Lotte International.
The regular general meeting of shareholders of Samsung BP Chemical was a rare sight of management-labor harmony. Union members literally tossed into the air Samsung BP Chemical President Sung In-hee, who took the helm of the unit of Samsung Group for four years and eight months. The union members entered the venue of the shareholders’ meeting, saying that they wanted to extend thanks to President Sung. A placard that reads “Thank you President Sung In-hee” was erected. President Sung said he called for the visitors to make Lotte BP Chemicals a world-class company by combining Samsung’s DNA and Lotte’s DNA.
The sight was a departure from the conventional confrontation between management and labor in the course of M&As over continuity of employment and payment of compensation money. In reality, Hanwha Group went as far as locking out labor in the course of taking over Samsung General Chemical, predecessor of Hanwha General Chemical, last April. Home Plus labor union staged a sit-in protest against the private equity fund, MBK Partners, who acquired the retailer from Tesco of the United Kingdom, demanding a guarantee for their employment continuity.
On the other hand, the labor union of Lotte BP Chemical adopted a win-win strategy with the new management under the roof of Lotte Group.
Lotte Fine Chemical’s Yeosu plant.(Photo:Lotte Fine Chemical)
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