At the regular shareholders meeting of Japan Lotte Holdings, the agenda proposed by former Lotte Holdings Vice Chairman Shin Dong-ju's side was voted down again. Since 2016, Shin's repeated attempts to return to management have once more failed to clear the threshold of the shareholders meeting.
According to Lotte Corporation on the 29th, one agenda item submitted by the company at the regular shareholders meeting of Japan Lotte Holdings held that day was approved. In contrast, all three items proposed by Shin's side, including his own appointment to the board and amendments to the articles of incorporation, were voted down.
As a result, all items that Shin has proposed a total of 12 times at Lotte Holdings shareholders meetings since 2016 ended in rejection.
Earlier, Kwang Yoon, the largest shareholder of Lotte Holdings, submitted a shareholder proposal to this shareholders meeting calling for the dismissal of Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin from the board and the appointment of Shin to the board. Kwang Yoon filed the related items under the Japanese names Shigemitsu Akio for Shin Dong-bin and Shigemitsu Hiroyuki for Shin.
Kwang Yoon also proposed amending the articles of incorporation to strengthen corporate transparency. The intent is to reflect in the articles that if a person has been sentenced to imprisonment or a heavier punishment for violations of domestic or foreign laws and the execution has been completed or is suspended, that person cannot become a director until two years have passed.
Shin's side cited deterioration in Lotte Group's management and corporate governance issues since Chairman Shin Dong-bin took office as the background for this shareholder proposal. They argued that although Shin Dong-bin was convicted in Korea in 2019 on charges including bribery and breach of trust, he has remained as CEO, and that responsibility has not been sufficiently clarified nor have measures to prevent a recurrence been adequately implemented.
They also took issue with Lotte Group's drop in the business rankings. Shin's side cited as management failures the decline in domestic business rankings to sixth place, falling behind Hanwha Group due to reduced asset size, and the fact that even as Lotte Group affiliates in Korea pursued restructuring and asset sales, executive compensation was maintained or increased.
In a notice distributed locally in Japan on the 26th, Shin emphasized, "For Lotte Group to truly regain the trust of stakeholders and society, a fundamental reform and reorganization of corporate governance is essential," adding, "We will seek all measures to reorganize corporate governance and the compliance framework and to achieve a normalization of management."
However, with all of Shin's items voted down at this shareholders meeting as well, Shin's attempt to return to management at Lotte Holdings—ongoing since the 2015 management rights dispute between the Lotte Group brothers—has been thwarted again.