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| KAIST professor Bae Sang-min, left, and Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin pose for a picture. Captured photo from Bae Sang-min's social media |
By Kim Hyun-bin
The sudden resignation of Lotte Holdings Design Management Center CEO Bae Sang-min, a professor at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), is drawing attention, according to industry officials, Monday.
Bae resigned as head of the Design Management Center at the end of last month, just a little over a year and five months after being recruited by Lotte in September 2021. His successor has not yet been decided.
Bae was the first case of an outsider being recruited among the group's CEOs, which drew attention as Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin's was behind the recruitment process.
Bae often revealed his friendship with Shin, posting several photos of the two of them on social media.
With a design concept centered on sharing, Bae has won more than 40 awards in the world's four major design competitions, including Red Dot (Germany), iF (Germany), IDEA (U.S.) and Good Design (Japan).
Since his recruitment, Lotte has donated 14 billion won ($10.97 million) to KAIST to build the Lotte-KAIST R&D Center and Lotte-KAIST Design Center.
Bae was the first CEO of the Design Management Center, which was established to enhance design innovation and organizational culture innovation in products and services, and he was evaluated for contributing his design philosophy and identity within the firm.
The Design Management Center consists of 30 people, and is known to be in charge of projects such as improving the brand image of Lotteria and redevelopment of Lotte Confectionery's Yeongdeungpo factory.
Bae became famous in 1998 when he was the youngest professor appointed at Parsons School of Design in New York, one of the top 3 fashion schools in the world, at age 27. He began his career as a professor at KAIST in 2005.
Some officials believe there may have been a conflict within the company that made Bae resign.
"The CEO is known to be returning to being a professor to train the younger generation," an official from Lotte Group said.
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