이 기사는 2021년 03월 30일 07시51분 thebell에 표출된 기사입니다

Lotte Group, one of the family-owned conglomerates in South Korea, is entering a new chapter in its growth as power is passed down to the founding family’s second generation.

Shin Choon-ho, chairman of the country’s top noodle maker Nongshim, died Saturday of a chronic illness. His death came about a year after his oldest brother Shin Kyuk-ho, the late founder and honorary chairman of the Lotte Group, passed away in January last year.

Shin Kyuk-ho founded the Lotte Group in 1960s, with his four younger brothers helping him grow the conglomerate that now spans dozens of businesses from retail to food. Shin Choon-ho’s death has left only two remaining members of the founding generation – Shin Seon-ho, Japanese food company Sansa's president, and Shin Joon-ho, dairy company Prumil’s chairman.

The conglomerate had suffered from continued disputes between the founding brothers in previous decades, resulting in the spin-off of Nongshim and Prumil from the Lotte Group. However, with the second generation of the Shin family gradually taking on top leadership roles in businesses under Lotte’s umbrella, it is expected to see more cooperative relationship between them in the future, industry watchers said.

Shin Dong-bin, the second son of Shin Kyuk-ho, currently leads the Lotte Group. The conglomerate recently made major executive moves, giving more leadership roles to younger employees. In particular, the appointment of Kang Sung-hyun, who is 50 years old and previously worked at BCG, as head of supermarket chain Lotte Mart came as a surprise to many, reflecting the conglomerate’s commitment to reform and restructuring.

Nongshim is led by Shin Dong-won, the eldest son of the late chairman Shin Choon-ho. Shin Dong-won took over as chief executive in 2010. His two younger brothers are running Nongshim’s main affiliates, Youlchon Chemical and submarket chain Mega Mart, respectively.

“We will gradually expand our business to include nutritional supplement food, vegan food and meat alternatives,” said Shin Dong-won in the company’s latest shareholders meeting.

Purmil promoted Shin Dong-hwan, the second son of Shin Joon-ho, to chief executive in 2018. (Reporting by Kyu-seok Park)