[비즈한국] Lotte Card has finally selected its final candidate for the new CEO position. The person set to succeed CEO Cho Jwa-jin is Jung Sang-ho, a former vice president and currently an advisor at Lotte Card. Nominee Jung was chosen after a difficult three-month search following CEO Cho's mid-term resignation, and his status as an internal candidate has raised expectations. As Jung takes the helm of Lotte Card amidst a chaotic situation defined by data breach recovery efforts and deteriorating performance, attention is focused on whether he can normalize management and restore trust.
Lotte Card's Executive Candidate Recommendation Committee recommended Advisor Jung Sang-ho as the CEO candidate on February 25. The committee highly valued the fact that Jung is an internal figure who has worked in the credit card industry for over 30 years, spanning various sectors including strategy, marketing, and sales. Nominee Jung served as vice president of Lotte Card from 2020 to 2023, overseeing the Card Business Division and Sales Division, and has served as an advisor since 2024. Before joining Lotte Card, he held positions such as Marketing Team Leader at LG Card, Head of PRIVIA Business, Head of Brand Management, and Head of SME Business at Hyundai Card, and Head of Strategic Sales Division at Samsung Card029780.
Lotte Card will appoint Jung as an executive director and CEO at the extraordinary shareholders' meeting and board meeting to be held on March 12. Lotte Card explained, "Nominee Jung has a deep understanding of the credit card business and a track record of achievement in sales and marketing. His experience at Lotte Card gives him a thorough understanding of the company's internal affairs, making him the right person to lead the organization stably and achieve internal and external trust recovery and growth."
In September 2025, Lotte Card suffered a data breach resulting in the exposure of personal information of 2.97 million customers. The incident caused controversy, as the leaked data included sensitive information such as card numbers, expiration dates, and CVC codes, and the company failed to respond properly until 200GB of data had been leaked. Following the incident, CEO Cho Jwa-jin and the executive team apologized to the public and promised large-scale personnel reform.
Beginning in November 2025, the executive team, including the CEO, resigned one after another as promised. Along with CEO Cho, MBK Partners Vice Chairman Kim Gwang-il resigned as a non-executive director, and in late January, MBK Partners Vice President Lee Jin-ha also stepped down from the same position. During the regular executive reshuffle in late October of last year, a large number of vice-president-level executives also resigned.
Nominee Jung is the successor found three months after CEO Cho Jwa-jin's mid-term resignation. CEO Cho expressed his intention to resign at an extraordinary board meeting on November 21, 2025, taking responsibility for the data breach, and resigned effective December 1, but the company operated under an acting CEO system as it could not find a successor. Lotte Card initiated a CEO succession process, searching for candidates both inside and outside the company through outside director recommendations and headhunting firms, but could not easily find a suitable candidate. Only in early February were three candidates selected and presented to the committee, and Advisor Jung was recommended as the sole final candidate at the extraordinary board meeting on the 25th.
Although he is the next CEO candidate found after much difficulty, the tasks facing Jung are significant. First, sanctions from financial authorities regarding the data breach are pending. Following the incident, financial authorities are reportedly reviewing a six-month business suspension and a 5 billion KRW fine. Furthermore, an on-site inspection by the Financial Supervisory Service in September 2025 revealed violations of the Electronic Financial Transactions Act, the Credit Specialized Financial Business Act, and the Credit Information Act, making severe disciplinary action unavoidable.
The prospect of a change in ownership also adds pressure. The major shareholder, MBK Partners, holds a 59.83% stake in Lotte Card through its special purpose entity (SPC), Korea Retail Card Holdings. Since acquiring Lotte Card in 2019, MBK Partners has attempted to sell its stake since 2022, but progress has been stagnant.
The significant decline in earnings as a result of the incident is another problem. The net profit for 2025 was 81.4 billion KRW, a 39.9% decrease from the previous year (135.3 billion KRW). This is the lowest level since 2019 (57.1 billion KRW). It is the first time Lotte Card's net profit has fallen below 100 billion KRW since its acquisition by MBK Partners. While performance has taken a hit, a key question remains whether the company can seamlessly carry out its plan to invest 110 billion KRW in information security over five years following the incident.
Lotte Card stated, "Net profit decreased by 40% year-on-year due to one-time costs from the cyber breach, the accumulation of provisions to prepare for future uncertainties, and changes in industry conditions such as the reduction of merchant commission rates," adding, "The new CEO nominee will address the recovery of customer trust, management stabilization, and the enhancement of mid-to-long-term corporate value after the incident."