Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin. (Photos: Lotte Group)

(from left) President Lee Young-gu, head of Lotte Group’s food business unit, Senior Executive Vice President Hwang Bum-suk, chief of Lotte Shopping’s department business division, Senior Executive Vice President Lee Hun-ki, head of Lotte Holdings’ management innovation office.

(from left) Senior Executive Vice President Koh Soo-chan, chief of Lotte Holdings’ communications office, Executive Vice President Chung Ki-ho of Lotte International Co., Senior Executive Vice President-CEO Lee Jin-sung of Lotte Food.

(from left) Senior Executive Vice President-CEO Hwang Jin-gu of Lotte Chemical’s basic materials, and Executive Vice President-CEO Park Yoon-ki of Lotte-Chilsung Beverage.

Lotte Group conducted a massive reshuffle on Nov. 2, 7 in which about 130 executive positions, accounting for almost 20 percent of the total group executives, were eliminated. To inject youth in the leadership ranks, CEOs in their early 50s were appointed to the head of some subsidiaries.

The group launched voluntary retirement, even for mangers at each section, with a focus on its distribution business units. Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin had conducted emergency personnel changes since August.

The business group streamlined its structural organization and conducted personnel reform as the distribution and chemical units of the group have been struggling with the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the latest reshuffle, CEOs in their early 50s were tapped as head of some of the group’s subsidiaries. Lotte Nestle CEO Kang Sung-hyun was appointed to head Lotte-Mart while Lotte-Chilsung Beverage CEO Park Yoon-ki was named as chief of the group’s management strategy division. The two were born in 1970.

New Lotte-Mart CEO Kang once had positions with the French distribution company Carrefour and the consulting company Boston Consulting Group (BCG).

Lotte’s appointment of Kang, hired from outside the company, is rare compared to the group’s conventional “pure-blooded “ personnel management regime.

Lee Jin-sung, 51, president of Lotte Future Strategy Research Institute, was appointed to be CEO of Lotte Foods, while President Hwang Jin-goo of LC USA was named as CEO of Lotte Chemical’s basic materials business division.

Cha Woo-chul, chief of Lotte Holdings’ management improvement team, was tapped as CEO of Lotte GRS while Noh Joon-hyung, 52, head of Lotte’s DT Business Division, was named as CEO of Lotte Data Communication.

Executive Vice President Lee Hoon-ki, head of Lotte Holdings’ management innovation office, was promoted to senior executive vice president.

Lotte Holdings underwent a reshuffle. CEO Lee Young-gu of Lotte-Chilsung Beverage was appointed to head the Food Business Unit, replacing President Lee Young-ho, who stepped down.

Koh Soo-chan, head of Lotte Holdings’ communications office, was transferred to chief of Lotte E&C’s housing business division. A Lotte official said in the latest personnel change, about 30 percent of the executives had stepped down, and 10 percent had been replaced.

Lotte Group’s distribution and food business units began to accept voluntary retirement from not only general managers but also deputy managers, section chiefs, in return for paying 18 months and 30 months of basic pay.

The massive reshuffle came after the group’s subsidiaries posted poor business performances for the nine months of the year.

Lotte Shopping and Lotte Chemical saw their cumulative operation profit nose-dive 57 percent and 85 percent, compared to the same period last year, respectively.

Lotte Group Chairman Shin has still a lot of things to secure new growth engines the group is lacking.