Lotte chief convenes CEO meeting to discuss growth strategy
By Lee Yoon-seoPublished : July 18, 2023 - 15:34
![Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin (Lotte Group)](http://res.heraldm.com/phpwas/restmb_idxmake.php?idx=640&simg=/content/image/2023/07/18/20230718000624_0.jpg)
South Korea's fifth-largest conglomerate Lotte Group on Tuesday held its biannual meeting of top executives to review business performances and seek ways for sustainable growth amid increasing market volatility and uncertainty.
Some 80 executives, including Chairman Shin Dong-bin and Lotte Corp. CEO Lee dong-woo, attended the meeting, which it refers to as its "Value Creating Meeting," held at the Lotte World Tower in Seoul.
According to the holdings unit, the executives examined external factors that are currently fanning changes in the corporate management environment, such as increased geopolitical uncertainties, a low birth rate and an aging population.
The meeting also discussed the group’s plans for fostering new growth engines, including health, wellness and mobility.
During the meeting, Lotte Biologics, the newly established pharmaceutical arm, renewed its commitment to becoming a global top 10 contract development and manufacturing company by speeding up its planned production expansion. The company plans to build three production plants in Songdo, Incheon, by 2030 with combined production capacity of 360,000 liters of antibody drugs.
Other key food and chemical affiliates also discussed ways to improve profitability overall and spur technology-based innovation.
In the meantime, a local media outlet reported Monday that the Lotte chief’s eldest son Shin Yoo-yeol, who has served as managing director of Lotte Chemical, was recently named CEO of Lotte Financial, the group’s Japanese finance and real estate unit.
The new appointment is widely seen as a move for the Lotte heir to expand his presence within the group. The Seoul office, however, declined to elaborate.