Lotte Chairman to return to beverage unit's boardroom

Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin is slated to return as an inside director of Lotte Chilsung Beverage Co., the group’s subsidiary and one of the largest drink makers in South Korea. The beverage company is expected to boost the wine and whiskey businesses under his direction.

Lotte Chilsung is set to pass a resolution to appoint Shin as an inside director during the general shareholders’ meeting in end-March, the beverage maker said in a regulatory filing on Friday. 

Shin resigned from inside director positions at Lotte Chilsung, Lotte Shopping Co. and Hotel Lotte Co. in December 2019, to focus on the group’s core businesses. He also left the boardroom of FRL Korea Co., which distributes Japanese casual wear Uniqlo products in Korea, last month. 

He is a board director at the group’s four affiliates – Lotte Corp., Lotte Chemical Corp., Canon Korea and Lotte Confectionary Co.

Coming back as a director, Shin will accelerate the global business of Lotte Chilsung through share purchases as well as mergers and acquisitions, a group official said.

The beverage maker will aggressively invest in health food businesses, industry sources said. Last year, Lotte Chilsung acquired Bigsomebio, a local healthcare services and nutritional supplements provider. It is also expanding zero-sugar and health food and drinks as a growth engine for the company.

Shin is also expected to spur the beverage company's premium liquor business. Lotte Chilsung is aiming to start the construction of a whiskey distillery on Jeju Island in Korea. He may also make a quick decision to acquire a global winery, which the group has considered buying for years, sources added.

Write to Jiyoon Yang at yang@hankyung.com

Jihyun Kim edited this article.