Lotte Group conducts CEO reshuffle

Four women

promoted to

executive posts

By Lee Hyo-sik

Lotte Group said Friday that it reshuffled the CEOs of its major subsidiaries to better prepare them for the increasingly uncertain business environment next year and beyond.

“We conducted the personnel reshuffle to award CEOs and executives who outperformed expectations this year,” said a spokesman for Korea’s fifth-largest family controlled conglomerate. “The new CEOs are the right people who will help the affiliates improve their bottom lines and nurture new growth engines.”

Noh Byung-yong, 63, former Lotte Mart CEO, will head the group’s building arm Lotte Corp. Noh will manage the firm’s Lotte World Mall project in southern Seoul, while former CEO Lee Won-woo will remain in the company to lead the construction of the controversial Lotte World Tower.

Kim Jong-in, who previously managed Lotte Mart’s China operations, was named to head the country’s second-largest discount store chain. Kim has served various posts over the years. Among others, he was in charge of the firm’s process innovation and business strategies.

Lee Dong-woo, former Lotte World CEO, was appointed to lead Lotte Hi-mart, Korea’s largest electronics retailer. Lee, who headed the nation’s largest theme park operator for the past three years, is dubbed as an “expert in retail” for his extensive career at Lotte Department Store.

Park Dong-ki, former senior vice president of Lotte Hi-mart, was chosen as the CEO of Lotte World. Park, who began his career at Lotte Chemical, was mostly involved in sales and strategy planning. In particular, he oversaw Lotte’s acquisition of Hi-mart and was credited for successfully integrating the electronics retailer into the Lotte family.

In addition, Lotte Hotel CEO Song Yong-dok, who held a vice president title, was promoted to president for his role in transforming Korea’s largest hotel chain into a global brand.

Lotte Home Shopping CEO Kang Hyeon-gu was also promoted to president as he successfully managed the company, despite the increasingly intensifying competition in the local home shopping market.

Lotte also promoted four women to executive level, pushing the number of female executives to 12. It also elevated two non-Korean employees ― Latif Abdul, head of Lotte Confectionary’s office in Pakistan, and Zenkov Alexandr, head of the firm’s Kazakhstan office ― to director.