November 28, 2024

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Shin Yoo-yeol, executive vice president of Lotte Corp. (Lotte Group)

Shin Yoo-yeol, the eldest son of Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin, has been promoted to executive vice president of Lotte Corp., the group's holding unit, to oversee the retail giant’s global strategy and speed up its leadership succession plans.

Lotte announced a management reshuffle on Thursday, replacing 21 CEOs across its affiliates.

Born in 1986, Shin currently leads the future growth division at Lotte Corp. and the global strategy division at Lotte Biologics. He previously served as CEO of Lotte Strategic Investments and Lotte Financial and worked at Lotte Chemical’s Tokyo office.

In his new position, he will assume a full management role overseeing the group’s future growth drivers, including biopharmaceutical consignment manufacturing and global expansion.

The reshuffle comes amid widespread speculation that the nation’s sixth-largest conglomerate by assets may face a liquidity crunch, hit by poor performances in its chemical and retail units.

In an effort to soothe investor concerns, Lotte recently announced plans to use its flagship skyscraper, the 6 trillion won ($4.31 billion) Lotte World Tower, as collateral for corporate bonds issued by Lotte Chemical.

The chemical business division saw a major leadership overhaul, with 10 out of 13 CEOs replaced. Hwang Min-jae, formerly chief technology officer at Lotte Chemical, has been appointed CEO of its advanced materials business, while Jung Seung-won, previously CEO of Lotte Ineos Chemical, will now lead Lotte Fine Chemical.

Lotte described the reshuffle as a step toward long-term growth. “This reshuffle is designed to strengthen our competitiveness and ensure sustainable development in a rapidly changing business environment,” the group said.

By Hwang Joo-young (flylikekite@heraldcorp.com)