April 25, 2024

• 

[THE INVESTOR] Lotte Group on Oct. 23 announced that it will inject around 50 trillion won (US$44 billion) in all of its foreign and domestic business units over the next five years.

“Our funding plan aims to normalize and speed up our business that has been growing slowly during the leadership vacuum, and show our commitment to contribute to revitalizing Korean economy,” a Lotte Group official said in a statement. Moreover, the company also plans to hire 70,000 new employees to create more jobs.

The announcement came after Lotte Chairman Shin Dong-bin was released from jail following an appeals trial. He served an eight-month jail term on bribery charges in connection with a massive corruption scandal involving ousted President Park Geun-hye and her friend Choi Soon-sil.

The company emphasized that it will invest in areas of future technologies such as artificial technology and big data to provide new experience to its customers.

For its retailing division, the company aims to inject funds to strengthen the online business, in order to become a top operator here. Furthermore, the company also added that it aims to recruit new employees mainly in its e-commerce sector.

This is the biggest investment by Lotte since 2016 when it acquired a domestic petrochemical company for 11.2 trillion won.

By Song Seung-hyun (ssh@heraldcorp.com)