Lotte replaces 22 CEOs, 140 seniors in management for breakthrough in business slump

Chairman Shin Dong-bin

Lotte Group replaced 22 CEOs and 140 senior executives as the retail-heavy fifth largest Korean conglomerate revamps to adapt better to the fast changing retail business amid surge of e-commerce and protracted domestic slump.

Song Yong-dok, vice chairman, will head the group’s holding entity Lotte Corp. for a tripartite management with Chairman Shin Dong-bin and Vice Chair Hwang Kak-gyu.

Song will be in charge of human resources personnel and management improvement for efficient work and governance structure in the group. Hwang as the board chair of the holding company will seek for new business opportunities for future growth and focus on the global business strategies, finance and communications.

Lotte’s key business spans over retail, chemical, food and hotel & service. For faster decision-making, each business head now has enhanced authority over its operation.

Kang Hee-tae, former head of Lotte Shopping, was promoted to supervise the retail operation ranging from department store, convenience store, super market to home shopping businesses.

The chemical business will remain under the responsibility of Kim Gyo-hyun, and the hotel and service operations is led by new chief of Lee Bong-chul, former head of finance division at Lotte Corp., to expedite initial public offering of Hotel Lotte.

The sweeping reshuffle comes after Chairman Shin has become free from legal disputes after the final court upheld suspended sentence over a corruption scandal in October. Shin has spearheaded the annual leadership shakeup since mid-September with an emphasis on the group’s digital transformation and response to challenges from the surge of e-commerce.

On Friday, Lotte Corp. shares closed 1.3 percent higher at 39,050 won in Seoul.

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