이 기사는 2021년 06월 23일 07시56분 thebell에 표출된 기사입니다

Lotte Holdings, the holding company of Lotte’s Japanese operations, is set to hold its annual general meeting where shareholders will vote on the re-election of chairman Shin Dong-bin and proposals put forward by his older brother Shin Dong-joo, who aims to return to management of the company despite his failed attempt last year.

The Tokyo-based company will hold its annual general meeting, which takes place every June, later this week, according to industry sources. Shin Dong-bin, chairman and co-chief executive of the company, is expected not to attend the meeting as last year.

Shareholders will vote on the re-election of Shin Dong-bin and proposals filed by Shin Dong-joo, the former vice chairman of Lotte Holdings, as well as ordinary items including approval of audited financial statements.

Shin Dong-bin was re-elected as a director in June 2019 with a two-year term, which expires this year. His re-election is expected to pass without any difficulty as he controls more than 50% of Lotte Holdings with support from the company’s employee and executive stock ownership associations.

Shin Dong-joo a few months ago filed a proposal seeking to amend the company’s articles of incorporation to forbid a person found guilty and sentenced to jail from serving as a director, a move apparently targeting his brother who was sentenced to a prison in 2018 for bribery charges involving South Korea’s former president.

The same proposal had been put forward by Shin Dong-joo last year, but it was voted down by shareholders. He then took legal action by filing a lawsuit at a court in Japan, but the court did not side with him in a ruling in April. He recently appealed to a higher court.

The amendment of the company’s articles of incorporation requires support from at least two-thirds of shareholders in attendance and people holding more than one-third of the total number of issued shares. Shin Dong-joo controls some 33% of the company, mostly through Kwang Yoon Sa, which is the largest shareholder of Lotte Holdings. However, his proposal is unlikely to pass as most of the shareholders holding the remaining stake are friendly to Shin Dong-bin.

Shin Dong-joo filed another proposal seeking to be elected as a director. But this is also unlikely to happen as the passage needs support from a majority of shareholders present at the meeting.

Industry watchers in Japan are paying close attention to the company's general meeting this year as Genichi Tamatsuka, the former chief executive of convenience store chain Lawson, will make his first public appearance after he was appointed Lotte Holdings’ new co-chief executive last month. (Reporting by Eun-jin Choi)