[비즈한국] The management capabilities of Shin Yoo-yeol, the eldest son of Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin and Head of the Future Growth Office (Executive Vice President) at Lotte Corporation004990, have been put to the test. Since his promotion during the year-end reshuffle, Executive Vice President Shin has been serving concurrently as the Head of the Future Growth Office at Lotte Corporation and Head of Global Strategy at Lotte Biologics. It is expected that he will accelerate the succession process by actively securing shares following the restoration of his South Korean citizenship this year.
Character
Shin Yoo-yeol, Head of the Future Growth Office (Executive Vice President) at Lotte Corporation, was born on March 30, 1986, and is 38 years old this year. He was born in London while Chairman Shin was working at the London office of Nomura Securities. His mother is Manami Shigemitsu, a Japanese national. After completing his kindergarten, elementary, middle, and high school education at the Aoyama Gakuin, an elite school in Japan, and majoring in Environmental Information at Keio University, he began his professional career at Nomura Securities. During this period, he also completed an MBA at Columbia University in the United States. He married Aya Shigemitsu (30), a former colleague at Nomura Securities, in 2015, and they have one son. His younger sisters, Kyumi Shin (36) and Seungeun Shin (32), are known to reside in Japan.
Executive Vice President Shin drew attention ahead of his birthday this past March. According to domestic military service laws, those who regain South Korean citizenship are exempt from military duty starting at age 38. Business circles believe it is highly likely that he will restore his South Korean citizenship this year before embarking on the full-scale management succession process.
Career
Joining Lotte Japan as a General Manager of Sales in 2020, he began his management training when he was promoted to Planning Director at Lotte Holdings in Japan the following year. Subsequently, he served as Executive Director of the Japan branch of Lotte Chemical011170, Representative Director of Lotte Real Estate Co., Ltd. (Japan), and Representative Director of Lotte Financial Co., Ltd. (Japan). In the regular personnel reshuffle last December, he was promoted to Executive Vice President and appointed as the inaugural Head of the Future Growth Office at Lotte Corporation and Head of Global Strategy at Lotte Biologics to focus on global and new business ventures.
In March of this year, he became a registered executive at a South Korean Lotte Group affiliate for the first time as an inside director of Lotte Biologics. Recently, he was also appointed as an inside director of Lotte Holdings in Japan, taking on executive roles in both the Korean and Japanese holding companies. Lotte Holdings serves as the holding company for Lotte in Japan and owns a 19.07% stake in Hotel Lotte, the nexus between Lotte's Korean and Japanese operations. While he attended the VCM (formerly the President's Meeting) merely as an observer last year, he has been officially attending in his capacity as the Head of the Future Growth Office of Lotte Corporation since the first half of this year.
Capability
Executive Vice President Shin previously handled new business ventures at the Japan branch of Lotte Chemical. He was promoted from Assistant Director to Director in 2022, credited with identifying new business opportunities such as basic materials, hydrogen energy, and battery materials. At the time, Lotte stated, "Executive Vice President Shin also demonstrated his capabilities in building global cooperative relationships." Now, as the head of global strategy for Lotte Biologics, a core business within Lotte’s Bio & Wellness division, he faces the task of identifying new business opportunities once again. Lotte Biologics is receiving full support from the group, highlighted by the recent groundbreaking of its Bio Campus in Songdo last month.
Critical
As a Japanese national, it is observed that Executive Vice President Shin will likely acquire South Korean citizenship this year, as he turned 38 in January, thereby resolving issues related to military service. It is known that he previously acquired and then lost South Korean citizenship. His father, Chairman Shin Dong-bin, and his uncle, former Lotte Holdings Vice Chairman Shin Dong-joo (Chairman of SDJ Corporation), also maintained dual citizenship between Korea and Japan, only regaining their Korean citizenship after being exempted from military duty. If Executive Vice President Shin acquires Korean citizenship, the military service issues involving the Lotte family are expected to attract attention once again.
Chairman Shin Dong-bin faced controversy during the 2015 "Battle of the Brothers" regarding his Korean proficiency and the group's identity. Executive Vice President Shin, who is more fluent in Japanese and English, must overcome the hurdles of achieving fluent Korean communication and reorganizing the group's complex governance structure. Although he is reportedly capable of communicating in Korean, there are still many who remain skeptical.
Challenges
After maintaining a low profile in official public appearances, Executive Vice President Shin is expanding his management presence, starting with his attendance at the Lotte Biologics and Syracuse University industry-academia agreement ceremony in March, followed by his presence at the Bio Campus Plant 1 groundbreaking ceremony in Songdo, Incheon, last month. Lotte Biologics has announced plans to invest 4.6 trillion won by 2030 to build a total of three plants for Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) services, aiming to achieve 1.5 trillion won in revenue. Whether he can achieve the goal of "leaping into a Global Top 10 CDMO company by 2030" is expected to play a critical role in proving his management capabilities prior to the succession of control.
Securing equity is another task for Executive Vice President Shin. In June, he purchased Lotte affiliate shares and was listed for the first time as a specially related person of the largest shareholder, Chairman Shin Dong-bin. He purchased 7,041 common shares of Lotte Corporation, securing a 0.01% stake. The share purchase cost approximately 190 million won. Since he is considered to have started accumulating shares later than other third-generation business leaders, it is predicted that he will begin aggressive efforts to secure a larger stake once his South Korean citizenship is restored.