[비즈한국] Lotte Card, which had been under a business suspension sanction from financial authorities following a massive personal data breach, resumes normal operations starting the 16th. Having emerged from the risks associated with the sanction about a year after the incident, the company can now accelerate efforts to acquire new members and recover profitability. Recently, it also began expanding its overseas business by converting its Vietnam subsidiary into a general finance company. With its largest shareholder, MBK Partners, pushing for the resale of Lotte Card, attention is focused on whether the normalization of operations and diversification of revenue will boost the company’s corporate value.
Resumption of New Member Recruitment, Starting Normalization of Operations
Lotte Card will resume normal operations starting the 16th. On July 31, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) imposed a 1.5-month business suspension and a 5 billion won fine on Lotte Card, which had leaked the credit information of 2.97 million customers due to a hacking incident in August 2025. This was the first time a business suspension was issued due to a personal data breach caused by a hack. Initially, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) had proposed a 4.5-month suspension, but the FSC lowered the level of sanctions, considering consistency with past cases, the company’s post-incident resolution efforts, and the impact on the financial market and consumers.
As a result, Lotte Card suspended the issuance of credit, check, and prepaid cards for new members from August 1 to September 15. Only public-purpose cards, such as Sunshine Loan cards, free subway cards, and military service member cards, as well as corporate cards, were allowed to be issued on a limited basis. For existing members, while the issuance of new cards was prohibited, general services such as card renewals, re-issuances, card loans, cash advances, and revolving services remained operational.
With the conclusion of this sanction, Lotte Card has finally shed the risks associated with the personal data breach after about a year. At the same time, Jung Sang-ho, who took office as CEO of Lotte Card last March, faces tasks such as normalizing operations, improving profitability, and enhancing corporate value. CEO Jung succeeded former CEO Cho Jwa-jin, who resigned taking responsibility for the data breach.
Lotte Card is expected to engage in aggressive new member recruitment to normalize operations. It previously announced plans to expand its member base by diversifying sales channels and launching customized new products once the suspension ended. Lotte Card did not release any specific statement regarding the conclusion of this sanction.
However, it remains to be seen whether the end of the sanction will lead to improved performance. Lotte Card’s profitability has deteriorated over the past three years. Operating profit plummeted from 367.9 billion won in 2023 to 137.2 billion won in 2024, and fell below the 100 billion won mark to 81.4 billion won in 2025. Since the beginning of this year, there have been signs of a rebound in performance. Bolstered by portfolio reorganization centered on high-quality customers, improvements in asset quality, and cost efficiency, Lotte Card’s operating profit for the first half of 2026 reached 64.7 billion won, a 55.5% increase compared to the same period last year (41.6 billion won).
The concern is the performance in the second half of the year. The period includes the business suspension, and costs for acquiring new members may increase. Oh Ji-min, a senior analyst at Korea Investors Service, pointed out, "We expect a gradual improvement in profitability from 2026, but performance recovery could be delayed compared to the plan when considering customer support costs related to the data breach, increased investment in information security, and the potential increase in promotional costs to recover the customer base after the suspension."
Vietnam Subsidiary Transitions to General Finance Company… Pursuing Revenue Diversification
Alongside the normalization of operations, revenue diversification is also a key issue. While domestic new business was restricted, Lotte Card set out to expand its overseas business. Recently, it converted its local subsidiary in Vietnam into a general finance company, expanding its business scope to include corporate finance and leasing.
According to Lotte Card, its subsidiary, Lotte Finance Vietnam, received approval from the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) on August 28 to transition into a general finance company. Lotte Finance Vietnam was created after the acquisition of consumer finance and card company Techcom Finance in March 2018, marking the first entry of a domestic card company into the Vietnamese consumer finance and credit card market. Its performance is also on an upward trajectory, with Lotte Finance Vietnam's net profit for the first half of 2026 rising 38.7% (from 3.4 billion won to 4.7 billion won) compared to the previous year.
With this conversion to a general finance company, the company can now expand its target in the Vietnamese market from individuals to businesses and entrepreneurs. It will launch credit and collateral loans for high-quality companies, as well as vehicle loans and leasing businesses. The plan is to start with the automotive leasing market and eventually expand into industries such as medical equipment and construction machinery.
With the conversion, the company also changed its name to "Lotte General Finance Vietnam." Lotte Card explained, "This is the first case among both domestic financial firms in Vietnam and local consumer finance companies to convert into a general finance company. From 2027, we will strengthen our corporate credit review organization to upgrade our risk assessment system and expand corporate lending centered on partner companies."
CEO Jung Sang-ho stated, "Lotte Finance Vietnam has established a foundation for long-term growth by expanding its business portfolio and diversifying its revenue base. The growth of our Vietnam subsidiary will be a significant help in enhancing Lotte Card’s corporate value."
Meanwhile, as the largest shareholder, MBK Partners, pushes for the resale of Lotte Card, future performance is expected to influence the valuation of the company. It is reported that Lotte Card and MBK Partners began the sale process through a lead manager in August. MBK Partners holds a 59.83% stake in Lotte Card through its special purpose company (SPC), Korea Retail Card Holdings. Observers note that as the risks from the accident are resolved and operations normalize, the variables in calculating the company's value have decreased.